Sleep
by viviangel
Summary: Sleep…It's supposed to be a normal mechanism for people to rest their bodies. But sleep equals dreams.  What are dreams?  One would say they are escapes from reality…but not for me…my dreams are a different reality on their own.  NOT YAOI
1. The Truth

**Hey. This is the first chapter of the first story I have decided to make public. I have been writing fan fictions for about 10 years now but this is the first one I've posted. I will update according to your reviews. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer:Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.  
**

**SLEEP**

By ViviDarkAngel

Sleep…It's supposed to be a normal mechanism for people to rest their bodies. But sleep equals dreams.

What are dreams?

One would say they are escapes from reality…but not for me…my dreams are a different reality on their own.

Ever since I was little I used to dream about this far away place. In my mind I call it Konoha. I know people there even if I am not there myself.

How can I explain this? Even if they are my dreams…I am not there…I am but a lingering shadow that can only watch the events that are shown to it…

It started out as a peaceful place. The part of Konoha that I was in, in my first dreams, was full of dark haired people. I could see red and white paper fans on the walls that surrounded the particular house I was shown. A small boy around my age, which was eight at the time, came home very happy.

"_Mom, dad, I have great news…" he shouted whilst taking off his shoos and stepping into the house._

"_What is it?" A tall stoic man who I presumed to be his father said._

_A woman, his mother probably, who was holding a three year old baby in her arms came rushing too._

"_I graduated from the Ninja Academy top of my class today!" The boy said._

"_As expected of my eldest son". The man said putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Good work Itachi."_

"_I'm so proud of you Itachi." Said the woman. "And so is Sasuke." Gesturing towards the baby. "You'll be a great older brother to him…someone he can look up to." She said smiling._

And that's how my dreams of Itachi began.

That small eight year boy grew to be an ANBU captain at the age of 13 and he was a genius above all others.

My dreams watched over him as years passed and as I grew so did he. One night my dreams turned into nightmares.

It started with the rumor that passed through the Hokage's ears: that the Uchiha Clan, Itachi's clan, wanted to take control of Konoha.

Itachi was fourteen at the time and he was highly trusted by the Hokage so he gave him the order to spy on his own family…which he did and the rumor was confirmed.

In this time he had met another Uchiha. His name was Madara and he told Itachi about a scroll that could be found beneath the floor in a shrine. The scroll told the secrets of Sharingan, the Uchiha blood limit, one of the most powerful of eye techniques.

Itachi, upon finding and reading the scroll that Madara told him about, learned how to gain the next step in the power of the Sharingan. So he killed his best friend, Shisui Uchiha, to be able to gain that power. The older boy was found drowned in a river from what appeared to be suicide, though the Konoha Military Police believed it to be murder, and accused Itachi, but they had no proof. Even after that, Itachi didn't scare me. I knew he did it for a reason.

Then Itachi was ordered, by the third Hokage, Danzo, the head of ANBU Root division, and the Konoha council, to kill his whole clan. That night I woke up in a cold sweat and I had cried…just as Itachi did, before he killed everyone with the exception of his younger brother Sasuke, who he had to torture with his newly obtained Mangekyo Sharingan, in order to make the smaller boy hate him and survive.

Itachi didn't kill his whole clan single handedly. Madara had helped him and after that, the older Uchiha disappeared. Itachi became part of an organization of missing ninjas named Akatsuki and was pared up with a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, named Kisame Hoshigaki, a shark like man, with blue skin and an impossible amount of chakra.

My dreams were never the same. They were filled with murder and blood and the lost lonely heart that belonged to Itachi.

I had grown up watching him turn into the most beautiful man I had laid eyes on (or my mind's eye in this case) he was strong and so sad but no one except me could see that. Right now only I knew him. And I fell in love with the man that plagued my dreams. I didn't even know if he was real or not but if I couldn't have him, than I would have no one.

I had not told anyone about my dreams, not even my mother. It was my own personal world.

Lately my dreams started getting chaotic. There was no more storyline. All I could see were pictures and flashes and an impossible amount of data that my brain could barely handle. I started waking up with headaches and much more knowledge of my dream world that I ever wanted to have.

I learned about Sasuke's life and the chunin exams and how he ran away with Orochimaru and how he finally managed to kill him, I learned about Naruto and team 7 and Kakashi, and Tsunade and Sarutobi sandaime's death and many other things.

Practically I knew of everything that ever happened in Konoha's existence.

Than, the worst dream came. I was 20 when the flashes started, and now at 21 years old my dream world ended.

Sasuke had eventually found Itachi and they finally had their last battle. Itachi died and Sasuke learned the truth about his brother, who upon dying gave him a last brotherly smile.

After that, the dreams never came back and I was left with only a memory of the man I loved with all my heart.

I cried for a week and my parents didn't know what to do with me. I didn't tell them anything because they would think I was crazy. I lied and said that I had a nervous breakdown because of my university exams. They finally believed, and I was off the hook. But my broken heat could not be mended so easily.

* * *

I'm 22 now. A year has passed since I hadn't seen Itachi anymore. I started to slowly put my life in order again. I was in the last week of my collage exams and I was staying at a friend's hotel for the last 3 exams. I had just taken the first of the three and went for a day out with one of my friends so I could relax. When I had gotten back to the hotel room it was already dark. I decided to take a shower and go to sleep.

The water was warm on my body and it felt relaxing. I finished and wrapped a towel around me but before I exited the bathroom I heard voices on the other side of the bathroom door. They sounded familiar but it couldn't be…

"Hey…how about you go in there and grab her? If she sees me she might scream. Girls usually like you." One of the voices said.

"Wait until she gets out and we shall speak to her if she tries to scream I will take care of it." The most velvety voice I had heard said. It sounded almost like…no…it couldn't they were just dreams.

I pushed open my bathroom door and what I saw made me gasp: Itachi and Kisame stood by my window, through which I presume they had entered.

I didn't say anything. I just stood there and stared at the man that plagued my dreams from when I was eight. He was alive, and standing in my room, and talking something about grabbing me? Wait, that wasn't right…

"Well…" Kisame said "…at least she isn't screaming…".

_Act normal! Act normal! Act normal! Act normal! Act normal! _I kept telling myself.

Why should I be screaming? I asked trying not to look panicked but who the hell did I think I was kidding? I was in the same room with two of the most powerful members of Akatsuki and one of them happened to be the man I loved, who I didn't even know really existed outside my dreams until a couple of seconds ago.

"Well…that's a different reaction…" Kisame said smirking. "Let's just grab her and get it over with…"

"Hn…" was all Itachi said

"Hold up! Wait right there Jaws! Who the hell do you think you are? I demand an explanation! Why are you kidnapping me?"

"Did she just call me Jaws?" The question came from Kisame and it wasn't addressed to anyone in particular.

"I believe she did." Itachi said slightly smiling, whilst walking closer to me. "We are humbly asking for your presence and hopefully assistance in a few of Akatsuki's goals, for you seem to be a very important asset to us." Itachi continued. He was standing quite close to me at the moment and I had just realized my state of dress…a towel…and so I blushed deep crimson, seemingly to his content…

"I'm not an 'asset' I am a person!"

"My apologies…let me rephrase…you seem to be a very important _person_ to us right now."

"Hook Line and Sinker." I heard Kisame mumble.

"Screw you!" I yelled over Itachi's shoulder, who seemed amused by my boldness. "I'm not that easy to woo!"

I pondered my options: I could either get knocked out and go with them or… go with them willingly. I chose the option that didn't involve a headache.

"Fine! No need for lies…" I said looking at Itachi. "I'll come with you. Just let me get dressed and grab a few things. I know you're not going to kill me because I'm not a jinchuriki so I'm going to need some things…"

I started packing: I threw some clothes in a bag and got my cigarettes and a lighter. The last thing I needed to do before we left was get dressed so I took a tank top a pair of jeans and a pair of panties and went into the bathroom. I put my clothes on quickly and put some makeup on. I couldn't travel with Itachi looking like hell.

"Done!" I said walking out of the bathroom.

"Damn you're hot!" Kisame said smirking.

"Shove it!" I said calmly to him. "Can we go now?"

The question was directed to Itachi.

"So how do you intend on keeping up with us?" He said with a slight smirk.

"Well, you're going to carry me of course. And Kisame will take my bags since he is NOT touching me."

They both stared dumbfounded at me. I guess they didn't expect me to be so straightforward. At that Itachi, threw Kisame my bag, took me in his arms and jumped out the window.

"Well that went well…" I heard Kisame mumble before he jumped out after us.

"Should I have left a note?" I asked Itachi.

"Hn…"

"I mean my mom might think I'm dead and that won't be good…"

"You're better of for them to think you're dead than knowing you're helping the enemy."

"You don't know my mother…"

"Fine! You can text her once and then turn off you're phone."

"Ok" I said as I started texting:

**Mom. I'm fine. I'm going to be missing for o while but you should know that no harm has come to me. I hope I can see you again soon. Don't try to contact me. I love you. Jessie**

"Ok. I'm done." I said turning off my phone.

"Good. Give me your phone." Itachi told me.

"If you're going to throw it away, I'm not gonna help you anymore!" I said as he looked at me perplexed.

"And what do you suggest I do?" He said mocking me.

"Keep it!"

"What?" He asked raising a single elegant brow.

"Keep it. Hold it for me until your boss trusts me enough to let me have it back."

"Very well." He said a bit skeptically.

He took my phone and put it in his weapon pouch beneath the Akatsuki cloak. The rest of the way to the hideout we didn't talk much, so a nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck and fell asleep to the sweet smell that belonged to Itachi only.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was in a sort of cave. The light was dim but I could make out the figures that surrounded me. They were the other Akatsuki members, or what was left of them anyway. Deidara, Zetsu, Konan, Pein, and Tobi were standing around Itachi and me.

"Isn't she cute…?" Tobi said in a sweet voice.

"Damn! Here we go…This is gonna be such a pain in the ass…unn" Deidara was so nice to point out. I had closed my eyes again but the unmistakable 'unn' at the end of the sentence gave the blond Akatsuki away.

"So…how do we begin? What if she refuses?" I believe Konan was the one who asked the question since she is the only Akatsuki member that has a girl's voice…because, frankly…well…she is a girl.

"I'm awake…" I trailed off opening me eyes. Taking in the site of the most infamous and dangerous people in the world right now gathered around me

"Thank you Itachi… you can put me down now." I said as he gently laid my feet down on the floor, and slipped his arms from my waist. "Don't your arms hurt? You carried me all the way here…"

"Hn …" he said and slightly smiled. Than he turned away and joined the group of missing ninjas.

"OH MY GOD! SHE MADE THE DEVIL SMILE!" Tobi said, obviously talking about Itachi.

At that I turned towards Tobi and gave him the coldest and most evil glare I could muster. Tobi pretended to hide behind Pein. Uchiha Madara…there you are…Still in his Tobi persona, he really didn't seem that much of a threat but I had to keep my eyes opened. I mean…the guy screwed with everybody from the first Hokage till now. My gaze softened, as so it would seem I was falling for his cute scared act.

"Please do not call Itachi-san that…it bothers me…" I calmly said to him "And if you need my help, all I'm asking for is a little respect."

"First we need to break the seal that keeps her powers locked up" Pein said. His strong voice echoing off the walls and making it sound even more ominous than it already was "Hopefully the surge of chakra won't destroy the place before she can keep it at bay."

"That's reassuring…" I mumbled. "Shitsurei shimashita…demo…anata-sama wa dare? [Excuse me, but who are you?]" I asked addressing Pein.

Itachi and Kisame had introduced themselves on the way here, luckily for me because I had utterly forgotten I was supposed to be totally oblivious to any of the people here, before they did that. Lucky me, nothing slipped out.

"Ore wa Pein." He said looking down on me "This is Konan-san, Deidara-san, Zetsu-san and Tobi-san."

"Boku wa Tobi-chaaan!" The man with the orange mask piped up. I swear…I have no idea how he keeps this up without feeling humiliated.

Pein coughed slightly to regain my attention which had been diverted to the anomaly that was Madara, at that moment. "I presume you have already meat Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame."

"Yes. I have."

"Good. Than we can begin the unsealing process?"

"Wait!" I said a bit scared now.

"I presume that you have been told that you must help us; is that correct?" This time it was Konan who spoke to me.

"Yes…but…why should I help you? What do I gain out of all of this?" I asked as uncertainty and fear creped into my voice.

"The pleasure of _not_ having your family hunted down and slaughtered in front of you unn…" You can guess who said that, while sporting a sly and dangerous smirk.

Suddenly they all started to make the same hand seals and a felt their chakra pour inside my body. I felt a surge of power go through me. It was my power! And along with it came the memories that were sealed away from when I was eight. I understood that my powers or the small part of them that leaked out from the seal that was put on me was the reason for my dreams…and I also realized that I already knew how to control most of them. The powers I mean.

My memories came flooding in. My mother was, like me, born in Konoha. My father, my real father, was born there as well…my adoptive father, Race Bannon, who I thought to be my real father until now, had raised me like his own daughter, he was American and he worked for the SSS (Social Secret Service). Adrian Sasaki, who _was_ my real father, was or is a great ninja from the village I was born in. Itachi and I knew each other since we were two years old. We went to ninja academy together. He was my best friend; in secret of course. We had this special spot in the heart of Shi no Mori (the Forest of Death), near a small lake. We used to sit on a log near the edge of the water and talk or play, throw stones in the water and see who can throw bouncing stones the farther; that was the only game I could win with him. I could throw a mean bouncing stone. I had these powers since then.

One of my most interesting powers was the eye limit I had. It was an old eye technique considered ancient and extinct. It was the mother of the Byakugan, the Sharingan, and the Rinnegan, and it was called Jagan. When using it my eyes turned completely black. I had 360 degree vision with no blind spots; I could see any movement or find any object or person I was looking for no matter how far away he, she, or it was. I could see through any genjutsu, and create one at my liking.

My Jagan originally activated when I was 4, and I kept it a secret from the world.

Itachi was the first and only person I told about my eyes. He helped me train almost every day at our secret spot. We sparred on equal terms but he always won. I was the only one of the kids his age who could spar with him and not lose in less than thirty seconds; actually our sparing matches could last up to hours.

One day I, when I was almost eight I made the grave mistake of getting mad at my father and my Jagan subconsciously activated. That's when my fairytale ended. My father [my true father] left me and my mother telling her that she gave birth to a monster, a devil; she remarried Roger Bannon [aka Race] and he is now the man I called "dad" without even knowing he had no blood ties to me. My mom and Race decided that to "protect" me they had to leave Konoha and seal away my powers and memories for my own good.

I was 8 when they had done that. My mother and Race moved to America and I was told I had had a car accident and had amnesia. "And the rest is silence."

With all my memories back on course and some new ones created along the road of my dreams in my _fake_ life. I got up off the ground and sat up straight.

I noticed that they were all staring at me. I looked around the room. Seemingly I didn't destroy anything. That meant I could still keep my chakra in check.

"So…What do you need me to help you with?" I said standing up. My knees hurt from falling onto them most likely.

"We need you to help us collect the bijoux." Pein answered. "What kind of ninjutsu do you use best?"

"Odd question considering it's been a while and I can't remember everything…it's all still blurry. I do remember using Raiton and Fuuton quite well." I answered knowing that it wasn't entirely true…I could use all five kinds of ninjutsu and a couple of combinations for example Hyōton and Mōkuton...just don't know _how_ well I could use them; but the combination I told Pein had a reason.

"You would work well with Itachi-san and Kiasme-san. Your Jinchiurinki is from Konoha. It's the nine tailed fox, The Kyuubi." He told me.

"Hn…" I said indifferently…though I knew that it was Naruto we had to capture…the blue eyed, blond sunshine, son of Yondaime Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

I would play the game for now…on the other hand…as soon as Sasuke would kill Orochimaru I would have to leave. I had something important to find and I needed help. As soon as I would leave I had to find some old friends from Konoha.

Hell…what have I gotten myself into?

* * *

**Thank you for reading my first chapter.**

**TBC**


	2. Konohagakure no Sato

**Hey…here's my second chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ****Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, and the three swords are owned by ****Rumiko Takahashi****.**

* * *

Over the next few months, I trained with Akatsuki, mostly with Pein and Itachi. In no time I managed to reach quite a high level…I believe I was now close to jounin level. I usually preferred to spar without using my Jagan. Except for Itachi, none of the Akatsuki knew about my eye technique, and I would keep it that way until I would fight Madara.

It was late night and only Itachi and I were on the training field. We had a long spar until now. He was an exceptional fighter but I had noticed that over the past month he started getting tired more quickly.

"Let's stop for today…you look like you need a break…" I said to him.

"Hn…"

"Is that a 'Yes' 'Hn' or a 'No" 'Hn'?"

"It's an Ok 'Hn'" he said slightly smirking.

I hadn't told him that I remembered everything about my past yet. Now seemed like a good time.

"You know…I …"

"I know…he stopped me. I know that you remember…" He said while leaning on a tree trunk. "I can see it in your eyes…I still can read you like an open book you know…" he said smirking lightly.

"Oh…I'm… sorry…" I said bowing my head, but not failing to notice that all traces of the small smile that had caressed his lips a second ago were now gone.

"For what?"

"I actually don't know…but I really am sorry. I left you all alone."

"It wasn't your fault." His demeanor darkened a bit with the realization of what I was implying.

"I could have helped you…you didn't have to be alone." I said sounding a tad desperate probably.

As soon as I said that I felt a little tickle on my right cheek. Thinking it was a little fly I put my fingers on it to try and kill it or at least make it go away, but when I touched my cheek…it was wet…I was crying. I never cried in front of anybody my whole life…and here he was the little boy that stole my heart when I was a child…now a man who in an instant broke all my walls. What was disturbing was that my broken guards didn't even put up a fight…they didn't even make a sound as they fell. The next thing I knew were a pair of warm arms around me. The small hug he gave me was a bit awkward and it was clear that he was inexperienced in expressing his emotions but with that, the last brick of me inner defenses had crumbled.

I found myself at his chest again inhaling his sweet scent. In the silence of the night and with my ear pressed to his chest I could hear him breathe…and something wasn't right: his lungs were making a sound that was not normal so I activated my Jagan careful for him not too see me or sense me.

That night I cried myself to sleep. He didn't know I knew exactly what he had. I acted perfectly normal…well as normal as a crying girl in the arms of the man she loves _can _act. The news of Itachi having the white plague came as a shock to me, but it wasn't hopeless, tuberculosis wasn't impossible to cure. I could heal him… but I had to let him do what he wanted first: which would be to give his little brother, Sasuke, the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The next day I was having coffee in the main room of our headquarters and Tobi came in screaming that Sasuke killed Deidara or Deidara killed himself while trying to kill Sasuke. Also that the young Uchiha had killed Orochimaru a couple of days back.

That was my queue; tonight I would leave.

* * *

The whole day was spent discussing how to get Sasuke to join us. By nightfall it was decided that Pein would attack Konoha the day after tomorrow or something. We were ordered to retire and rest for the next day which would be a full one.

After I showered, I went downstairs for a last cigarette. Kisame was there.

"Yo!" Kisame started.

"Hey…"

"Wacha doin' up so late? You gonna get in trouble." He said mocking me.

"Neah…I'm going to be just fine…they can't touch me." I said playfully…Kisame has gotten to be a good friend of mine, since I have been in Akatsuki, I felt like he was my older brother or something, he always tries to keep me safe.

"So…what do you think?" He asked me.

"It sucks…throw me a beer!"

"My lips are sealed." He told me referring to the fact that I don't drink beer in front of anyone but him.

"Thanks… what do you plan on doing?" I asked lighting a cigarette.

"Sticking to Itachi…that's what I do. I trust him. I don't care what he does but I'm helping."

"Good…You take care of him OK?"

"Yeah, but why? You goin' somewhere?"

"Just promise me please…" I think my tone had a hint of genuine pleading in it because his look softened and he gave in.

"Ok I promise I'll take care of Itachi."

"Thank you." I said content with the answer I got.

"Are you leaving?" He inquired again. Persistent little bugger isn't he?

"Good night Kisame-kun…" I said cryptically. I knew he wouldn't ask again…being the 'secret information must be kept secret' fanatic he is.

I put out my cigarette and went upstairs. I knocked on his door. Itachi answered in his boxers. I smiled at him and told him it was my turn to see him straight out of the shower since last time he was the one who saw me. He smiled and let me in. I told him I was sorry again and for the second time I didn't tell him why. He was close to me again, too close, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Itachi…" I said gazing into his eyes. I probably had a sad expression on my face because he immediately showed small signs of concern. It's still amazing to me that I'm the only one he keeps showing emotion to…slight but still there none the less.

"Yes."

"You're still my best friend right?"

"I guess…" The hints of his worry had become more pregnant now.

"Then don't fight me too much ok?"

"What in the world do you mean?"

"Promise me ok?"

"Ok… I promise." He answered still puzzled.

"Thank you. I said hugging him."

What practically "killed" me was the fact that I was terribly attracted to him and his proximity didn't help my rising blood pressure too much. But …oh well…I was a strong girl…all I had to do was grind my teeth and **swallow**….oooh hentai hentai. Stop thinking dirty thoughts.

He looked down to me and I lifted my head up to see his eyes. The black orbs were staring right into my soul.

"What would you say if I could make it all better?" I asked him.

"Make what better?"

"All of it…you life…"

"You can't."

"But what if I could? What would you say?"

"My mind is already made up."

"I know that. But even if I don't know what you plan on doing" I lied "What if I could make it better after you finish what you started."

"There is no 'after'." He answered, his features turning rigid and the stoic mask was back in place.

"Yes but what if there was?" Baka…wasn't he getting it? I was just trying to help.

"You sound like a madman…" He stated.

"Indulge me." By this time he was beginning to piss me off.

"Alright if you could do something to make it better afterwards…" He trailed off.

"Yes. Would you accept? Or would you just shun me away?" Finally! I'm gonna get my answer!

"I would probably accept." Yatta! He said yes! "Now stop daydreaming and go to bed. Stop indulging yourself with these childish fantasies. You truly are still a child." Now that wasn't nice of him at all, but I wouldn't nag on him for that…at least not tonight…

"Maybe…Goodnight." I said while planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You used to do that when we were kids." He said softly.

"You remembered…"

"How could I forget? I looked forward to it every evening before we went home from the lake."

"Yeah…the lake…our little hideout…bet I could still beat you at bouncing stones." I said smiling.

I noticed he was also smiling. He was still holding me and we were still close to each other. So close that I could smell his freshly washed porcelain skin; so close we were breathing each others breaths, our lips almost touching.

"You should get some rest." He told me in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Right." I said letting go of him and taking a few steps backward.

"Goodnight." He whispered.

"Goodbye." I answered while already walking to my room.

If _his_ mind was made up then so was mine. Pein was right…this was going to be one long day…and one long night at that.

I packed my bags and created a shadow clone, to leave in my place, which I implanted with a good portion of my chakra, and concealed what was left of mine. I would make sure that they would not realize I was gone until at least two days have passed. I left the clone in my bead and I exited through the window and jumped down. I landed silently on the soft grass of the grounds of the great Victorian mansion that was the Akatsuki hideout (we had moved here from the cave right after I had gained my powers).

Now… the only way I could get out of here without detection was to manipulate the time-space continuum. I was completely capable of doing that. Jagan was the original eye power. Everything started from this Eye. Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, Rinnegan, even Byakugan, so that would mean I could even use them separately. I leaned against the mansion wall and concentrated in concealing my chakra as best as I could. I activated a small part of my Jagan. Taking out a kunai from my pouch, I looked at my eyes' reflection. It was a one tomoe Sharingan, the first stage of a freshly awakened Sharingan. Slowly, as not to be sensed by the others inside the mansion, I pumped more chakra to my eyes. Another seal appeared, and then another. I now had a completely awakened Sharingan. Time for the harder part. Pumping more chakra I managed to reach Mangekyo Sharingan and with a last touch of merging a bit of the original Jagan chakra to my newly awakened Mangekyo I managed to reach the stage I wanted: Eternal Mangekyo:

Now I could activate Jagan and Mangekyo Sharingan separately at my liking.

Putting the kunai back in my pouch, I opened a portal and disappeared inside it. I appeared in an instant at the gates of Konohagakure no Sato. I activated my Jagan and started searching for an old friend of mine. She was always talking about being a medic nin and that's exactly what I needed to find. Not long after my search began I had already found her, she was working on some papers in what appeared to be her living room. Deactivating my Jagan and activating my Mangekyo I teleported right in front of her. I wanted to hug her and tell her everything that I went through, and especially who I was but that last teleportation took all my chakra reserves since I was only working on 20% because of the wood clone, and gaining the Mangekyo took another 10%, at the moment I was left with a big Zero.

"Karin…" Was all I could say before she caught me in mid fall and the darkness took me.

I woke up on a bed. It smelled nice. Like incense and green tee. I wanted to lie there a little longer. But to my dismay, a loud voice sprung me from my lovely reverie.

"Who the hell are you, what are you doing here, and how did you appear in my living room like that?"

Hell I was in a heap of trouble. Since I've known her, Karin had a very short fuse and when she explodes…let's just say she makes a lot of collateral damage.

"Don't yell please Karin…" I said I a groggy voice.

"How do you know my name?" She asked not lowering her tone.

"You probably don't even remember me…it _has_ been a little over fifteen years since we last saw each other. Still wanna become a medic nin?"

"Jessie? You must be her…she's the only one I ever told that I liked medicine at that time.

"Yes, Karin… it's me. I'm back in Konoha and in a shit load of trouble, and dire need of some help."

Matsuri Karin was a good friend of mine when we were in Academy. She used to tell me a heap load of stuff that I wouldn't tell anyone. I myself only confided in Itachi and as far as I knew I was the only one he confided in at that time. But I was a confident to two more girls who I considered to be my best girl-friends. They were Matsuri Karin and Kensei Mara. And they were the help I needed right now.

I told Karin we needed to find Mara. Fortunately for me they had still remained good friends over the years. She was sleeping in her apartment to which we walked to because my chakra still wasn't fully back to its normal amount. We woke her up and I told them the whole story. They said they would gladly help, even though I had warned them of the risks. These girls were true friends; and it's not easy to break bonds like that.

The first thing I needed to do was tell them the plan I had. Having already told them about my dreams…or premonitions as they seem to like to call them, they already knew everything to be able to understand what I was going to ask of them.

"First of all I will need a secret room that only the three of us shall know about. It needs to be incased by anti-chakra-detection barriers. Inside it I will need a pacemaker, a respiratory apparatus and type AB blood bags. I will also need a hospital bead and anything a dying patient might need, and anything we could use to aid us in healing tuberculosis."

"Got it" Karin said "I think I can handle that. Since I actually work at the hospital now, I know we had a shipment of new equipment delivered a week ago. The new devices have already been installed and the old ones are in deep storage. We can use the old ones. As far as I remembered they are in quite good condition."

"I can make this room of yours." Mara added "I'm especially talented with Doton (Earth) Justus and I can make a room underground about anywhere you might like."

"Right outside Konoha. Find a secluded place. And you need to show it to me from all angles so I would know exactly where to teleport." I said.

"I'm on it." Mara finished.

"Wait…how will all of us get in? I do not need an entrance and nether does Mara…but what about you Karin?"

"I can use Doton well… fuck you very much."

"Then it's settled" I said laughing "Mara, go find a good spot and make sure to make the necessary barriers."

"I'm ANBU thank you. I think I know how to handle a secret place by now." She said grinning. And then she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I'm going to get the medical equipment." Karin announced.

"I'll come with."

We entered the storage room and got what we needed. Then we detoured inside the hospital's blood bank and took a couple of bags of AB type blood, and while I got the TB medicine we needed, Karin modified the medicine and blood storage charts, so no one could figure out that they were actually missing.

Just as we were about to leave, Karin's cellphone started vibrating. It was Mara telling us that she had the room ready and that she was right above it. I activated my Mangekyo and teleported us and all the stuff we gathered from the hospital straight to her.

"Damn! That trick really freaks me out!" Mara complained.

"I feel sick!" Karin stated. And I believed her since her face started to have a little green tint, noticeable even in the dark of the night.

"Sorry." I said giving them the most innocent smile I could muster. "You two use Doton to get down there and I'll teleport down with these" I said motioning to the mountain of utensils we had brought with us. "How far down is it?"

"One hundred meters straight below. Three meters tall and ten square meters wide."

"Thanks." I said "See you there."

I got there in an instant and it was exactly as she said it would be. The size was perfect. A few seconds later the girls entered through the ceiling as well.

"Ok …" Mara said "This will be helping Itachi's health (or lack there of) situation but what about his social predicament?"

"I need to visit three private offices. One: Danzo's, Two: The elder's and Three: the Hokage's."

"Mara! What time is it now?" Karin asked.

"3:24 AM."

"The Hokage always wakes up late because she drinks herself into a stupor almost every night. The elders wake up at 6 o'clock, and Danzo is up at about 4 in the morning".

"How do you know all that?" I asked perplexed.

"I used to be ANBU before I quit so I could become a full fledged surgeon." Karin said grinning wildly.

"You two are really 'Kick Ass'" I said smiling happily.

"Right back at you girl but right now we have got 35 minutes to get you in and out of Danzo's office and I have no idea how you are going to be able to do that."

"No need for worries. You just show me where it is and I'll do the rest with my 'time-space thingy that makes you sick' thing I do.

"Ok" Karin said smiling "You'd better have enough chakra for this or else we're done for."

"Trust me…I have more then enough."

"Karin! Wait!" Mara, who I had forgotten all about for the last minute, was tangled up in a bunch of wires that seamed to lead to the pacemaker we had brought in. "How about you put these together and I show her the way to Danzo's office, 'cause I haven't the slightest idea WHERE THESE FUCKING WIRES GO!"

"Ok, ok, calm down" Karin said "You go with her. Let me handle the dorky business."

"Thanks. Let's go." Mara said being obviously very happy to escape the pacemaker's trap.

We made our way silently through the streets of Konoha and to a tall ominous building. I had been instructed that Danzo's office was the top left one. So I teleported there. It was a large dark and ominous Spartan type office with only a desk a chair and large stacks of files, scrolls and books. Activating my Jagan I easily found the files I was looking for. They were hidden inside a secret compartment inside the south wall of the office. It was fairly easy for me get them without leaving any fingerprints or DNA behind. I left Danzo's office within three minutes.

"That was fast…" Mara said when I appeared right beside her on the tree branch she was perched upon.

"Next is the Elder's."

"Yes indeed…"

The Elder's office was as equally large but it had a more Victorian feeling to it. It felt as dark and ominous as Danzo's but not as cold. The files I was looking for were also hidden in a secret compartment drawer inside the large mahogany desk. No fingerprints no DNA …clean in and out mission.

The last office was the current Hokage's. Godaime, the fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade. I knew her in my early years. She was the student of the third Hokage Sandaime Hiruzen Sarutobi. As I remembered her she was a nice girl with a big heart, a short fuse, and a hell of a right hook. Her office was also Spartan in decoration but smaller and … let's just say she didn't have a thing for paperwork or tidiness. The file was in a drawer marked "top secret" -_original isn't it_, I thought-, but for her there was no need for such secrecy simply because all the important info on the owner of the file has been taken out; no…not crossed out…simply TAKEN out, like it never existed. I took the last of the files on Itachi and met up with Mara.

It was 5:33 and already and we were discussing Itachi's predicament in our new underground hospital room. We had stored the blood inside an earth sort of cabinet with an cooling jutsu that Karin had cast on it and we were sitting at a newly made earth table which was already decorated with a heap of papers that belonged to the Itachi file we were going to peace together like a puzzle.

"Ok. Were almost done!" Karin said.

"Yeah…put these last three pages in there and the file is complete with all the missing parts back in." I said happily smiling.

"Hurray!" My two best girl-friends shouted.

"Look sorry to burst your bubble but we have three more problems" I said in a serious tone. "Girls, can you by any chance call in sick today and get a rock hard alibi?"

"Yes." Mara was the one who answered.

"Sure thing hun, but will you be so kind as to enlighten us mortals what we have to do after a night of sleep deprivation?"

"Sorry…I truly am sorry" I said bowing my head in defeat.

"It's ok, but please can you tell us what you had in mind."

"Have you heard of the three sacred swords?"

"Yes!" They both answered in unison.

"What about them?" Mara questioned me.

"Sou'Unga, Tessaiga and Tensseiga. Sword of Hell, Sword of Earth and Sword of Haven. Sou'Unga is the most powerful one. They say the tip of the kashira (sword handle) holds a glowing red orb. It doesn't stop glowing until its rightful owner approaches it. Then the said owner gains the sword's power and with that the right to chose the wielders of the other two swords. Both the other two swords posses the power of one hundred souls one to destroy them and the other to bring them to life. I feel I need Sou'Unga."

"But what if you're not the designated wilder of this said sword?"

"I fell she needs me too."

"Ok…" Mara said "This is stupid and reckless and completely moronic! I'M IN! I trust you."

"So do I" Karin reassured me.

"The swords are in Kirigakure" Mara began They're held in a special shrine."

"I can find the location exactly on satellite since I'm pretty good with computer stuff. You can teleport us there. But on one condition." Karin added.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I get Tensseiga" She said bluntly.

"Mara?"

"I'm ok with Tessaiga" She said smiling.

"Before we go there are three things we need to have in mind" I said organizing our little three girl cell "One: get a generator in here for the pacemaker and breathing apparatus; Two: Get the damned swords; and Three: Take the file to the Daimyo and have a discussion with him and the Hokage about Itachi and Sasuke's predicament."

"Fine by me!" Karin said.

"Wait! About Sasuke…" Mara was the one who noticed the problem that seemed to rear its ugly head among us: since Itachi would me legally pardoned for all he did with a simple glance at the true file, Sasuke's problem was a little different…he went out seeking power of his own volition.

"If you know a good lawyer we can plead temporary insanity due to Orochimaru's cursed seal."

"Sounds like a plan." Mara acknowledged.

"It might actually work" Karin said thoughtfully.

"Ok then" I said breaking everyone's thoughts and bringing them back to earth. Time for the generator. Mara you come with me to find one. Karin you get that location. We meet here in 1 hour."

"Hai!" They both said in unison.

I had left my Akatsuki cloak inside our little sanctuary and I was now dressed as a civilian, carefully concealing what was left of my chakra as to not be discovered by any ninja that might spot my red tank top. Both girls called in sick before we left so we were in the clear as long as we didn't get recognized. We managed to find an almost usable generator at an old junkyard sale within the hour and returned to the underground room with it and some tools.

When we teleported inside Karin was already there with the location on her laptop which I instructed her to shut down to save some battery. In an hour and a half I had managed to fix the generator and test it. It worked on fuel so we needed an oxygen replenishing jutsu, which Karin was so kind as to put up, so we could make the air breathable, and keep it that way. After that we huddled above Karin's laptop memorizing the location of the swords. Activating my Jagan I took a look at the location better.

Now I knew exactly where to go.

* * *

**Thank you for reading**

**TBC.**


	3. Two Girls and I

**Chapy 3. Way to go me!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ****Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

I was truly sorry to put the girls through this kind of sleep depravation but if Pein would attack Konoha tomorrow, that would mean that Sasuke and Itachi would fight this evening. As I remembered from my dream, judging by the position of the sun and their location it would happen at about 7:30 PM. I already knew the location, for I had scouted it thoroughly with my Jagan last week, so I knew where to go and when to go there, but I didn't have the necessary instruments. The swords were crucial. There was one last problem to solve. And I prayed to whatever God would hear me that it would be resolved.

"Karin…How good are you with experimental medical ninjutsu?"

"Convinced adept. Flawless."

"Can you create a fake body?"

"Who's?"

"Itachi's."

"But I don't know how he looks like…I need exact measurements and…"

"I'll give you exactly what you need. I will imprint every detail of his body to your mind with my Jagan…but can you do it?"

"But what about the measurements of his…you know…"

"That too… I took a peek at him with my Jagan when he was in the shower…but that was purely for medical reasons…" I said and I probably started blushing like mad right about there.

"Yeah right…" Karin said sarcastically"

"Fuck it! Can you do it?"

"YES! I can"

"Good. Then look into my eyes."

In a matter of a split second I told her everything she needed to know about Itachi's body, I especially paid thorough attention to how he looked after his battle with Sasuke and the wounds that were inflicted upon him.

"Don't forget to make the lungs look like they have been damaged by long term Tuberculosis."

"I won't."

"How long will it take you?"

"I'll have it done by 5 PM."

"Make it 6 PM an make it very detailed. Careful with the fingers I need the original Akatsuki ring to fit the fake body."

"Karin…the promise stands. Tensseiga is yours but I have one more condition."

"What is it?"

"I get the first use of the sword…but I am not to be called its wielder."

"Agreed" Karin said.

We gave each other a sisterly hug and wished our good lucks. Karin understood she was to remain here for her task was equally as important as ours.

Mara and I effectively vanished before Karin's eyes. We appeared inside the sealed shrine where the swords were kept. We were lucky the said shrine was sealed, for if we didn't leave anything behind, nobody would be able to trace us.

"Fuckin' A! I feel sick" Mara stated holding her head between her hands.

"Shhhh…" I shushed her because I was actually mortified that someone would catch us.

Inside the shrine, on three beautifully colored pedestals, lay the three most beautiful swords I had ever seen. The middle one's kashira had a glowing red orb. I was now officially scared shitless. If the sword didn't stop glowing all my efforts would have been in vain. I stepped closer to the sword I was sure was Sou'Unga. With each step I grew closer to the sword and closer to despair, since the red glow of the orb would not fade at all. I was so close I could almost touch it…so I extended my hand right above Sou'Unga's hilt…and everything went black around us; I and the sword were all that I could see and sense. Then I heard a male voice ringing in my head:

"You desire my power?" It asked.

"No…not exactly…"

"Then why do you seek me? Do you not wish to have the power to destroy armies in one blow?"

"You're the sword? Sou'Unga."

"Indeed…that I am. …you haven't answered my question."

"No! I do not!"

"Then why do you seek me?"

"Life…protection …friends…I need Tensseiga."

"You came for me with your mind set on my sister?" He sounded upset.

"Yes." I answered truthfully, thinking that lying would get me absolutely nowhere with a sword.

"And you chose my power for protection of your loved ones?" Now he sounded downright angry.

"YES! And I will give Tessaiga and Tensseiga to worthy wielders, so long as the first use of Tensseiga is mine." I have absolutely no fucking clue why I said that.

"Then my beloved" The voice was now like a whisper in my ear "Your wish shall be granted."

It was like waking up from a dream. Everything came to contour and I could finally see Mara and the rest of the room. One more thing I could see was the fact that the orb on Sou'Unga's hilt had stopped glowing. Fuck yeah! It worked!

I took the sword in my hand and felt the power surge into me. The black flames of Hell that this sword possessed were at least ten times stronger than Amaterasu. I could vaguely hear Mara's voice in the background telling me we had to leave and fast. I took Sou'Unga's sheath and placed on my back and sheathing the sword as well. Then I took Tessaiga from it's rightful pace and handed it to Mara, entrusting her as its wielder. The last thing I did was take Tensseiga gently from the pedestal and carefully sheathing her, taking Mara's hand and materializing in front of Karin who was working inside our sanctuary.

The time was now 9:30 AM. I carefully placed Itachi's file in Mara's hands.

"You need to find Daimyo-sama. You need to tell him about Itachi's predicament. And make sure you leave out the part where he's going to be dead…and make sure you talk to him alone."

"No problem"

"I trust you…"

"Thank you… I know…I won't disappoint you."

"I know." I said before hugging her "Good luck…you're gonna need it."

"Thanks. – She said leaving through the wall."

As I watched her leave my heart was pounding in my chest. For the first time in my life I was truly scared.

"How are you holding up Karin?"

"Good …for now… how's your chakra supply?"

"Acceptable. Yours?"

"I'll make it" She said with a shy smile "There are some solder pills on the table. I know you need a lot of chakra for long rage transportation, especially if you're taking someone else with you…"

"Thanks I'll take a couple with me just in case."

I took a while to asses our status. We were tired and scared that we would not make it in time to save Itachi…and we knew…we just knew that there was something bigger in our actions than saving one human life.

"Karin…after you finish this I want you to get some rest."

"Why?" She asked looking up at me.

"I need you to perform en eye surgery on Itachi and myself.

"What kind?"

"Not a dangerous one…just one that needs a lot of precision…I want you to take a part of my Jagan DNA from my retina and implant it in Itachi's."

I remember reading in an old scroll in a library in one of the hideouts Akatsuki was using that an operation like this would work. Of course it wasn't performed on a Jagan user or a Sharingan user for that matter but it could just be generalized…right…I had to take my chances none the less.

"You're right…it's not dangerous but it does call for a lot of precision…why do you want to do it?" She said returning to the task at hand.

"If we don't he'll stop seeing…he'll go blind."

A slight tinge of fear crept up mu spine. What if the operation would hurt Itachi? No…it couldn't it was harmless. If it didn't work nothing would go wrong. If the Jagan DNA was rejected Itachi's body would just treat it like a virus and let the white cells consume it. On the other hand if the DNA would merge with his retina, he would never go blind again. The odds were in our favor.

"Well then you get some rest too. You've got a lot of work ahead of you and you need to replenish at least another part of your chakra." Karin told me kindly.

"Very well" I said lying down on the wooden floor, as sleep took me.

I woke up with a fit of joyful screaming. I looked at the time…it was 5:43 PM and I concluded that I had less than two hours to be at the Uchiha hideout with the fake body in hand.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked sleepily.

"Daimyo-sama agreed to pardon Itachi. Above that I got him to wait for a while as to not disrupt the flow of natural events that are to occur. He asked that you come to him when the time is right." It was Mara's voice, she was back…and with astonishing great news "I brought back Itachi's file" She continued.-

"We'll leave the file here since no one knows of this place, it should be safe. Carrying it around would not be wise."

"All right" She said while setting it on the table.

"I'm up to 45% in chakra supply I think that's good enough. I'm getting up."

"Fine" Karin said a bit worried.

"How are _you_ doing?" I asked her watching as she finished the last details of what actually appeared to be Itachi's real body.

"Almost done." Just adding a couple of finishing touches.

"Mara! Get some rest… you did great" I said smiling softly at her

"Yeah…you're right…I should sleep a bit"

She lied down on the floor shutting her eyes and letting sleep take over her overworked body. I sat down at the table watching Karin finish up her "work of art" and trying to untie the knot in my stomach that was caused by my powerful fear of losing Itachi forever. Another tear slid down my right cheek, but I quickly brushed it away hoping that Karin was too engrossed in her work to notice. As the time passed I couldn't help but reminisce at my first 8 years of life. They now seemed to define me completely.

* * *

"**I win again!" A seven year old me shouted cheerfully at an equally young Itachi, who was apparently pouting at the time.**

"**You did not!"**

"**Did to! You can't lie to me! My eyes are as good as yours! Maybe even better! My stone bounced further than yours!" I said while sticking my tongue out at him.**

"**Fine! You won! But you could never beet me at sparring!" He said smugly.**

"**True…" I pouted "But I will. Someday I'll be so much stronger then you!"**

"**You wish!" He said teasing me.**

"**I will! I will!" I yelled at him to prove my point.**

"**It's getting late we should head home" He said after a short pause.**

"**But I wanna stay with you more…"**

"**Well see each other tomorrow here at the lake"**

"**But…" I tried to protest.**

"**If we don't head home now, our parents will ground us and we won't be able to see each other anymore." He kindly explained.**

"**Ok…" I said defeated.**

**We raced home of course, since everything with us had to be a contest. I lived in the Uchiha compound, the house right next to Itachi's. My family and I were the only non-Uchihas to leave in the compound since my father worked very closely to them in the Konoha Military Police.**

**He beat me to my own porch. As we stood outside catching our breaths I kissed Itachi on the cheek as I did every evening when we walked or ran home.**

"**Goodnight" I said and scooted into my house, fast enough to miss the small blush that appeared on the Uchiha's cheeks.**

"**Goodnight" he muttered in response.**

* * *

"Jessie! JESSIE!"

"What?" I asked startled"

"You fell asleep" Karin said as she was still trying to shake me fully awake.

"Sorry… what's the time?"

"No problem… it's 7:00 sharp"

"Fuck! - I said suddenly standing up- is it finished?"

"Yes. It's done."

"I'm going… get some rest…you will be needed later."

"Ok. Good luck, and whatever Gods are out there, may they be watching over you."

"Thank you…ummm…listen, Karin…get some food and water in here…we'll be spending the whole day indoors…in here to be more exact. Pein will attack Konoha tomorrow and we are not supposed to be there. Naruto will win against him. And nobody will die."

"But Naruto's not here…"

"He'll come back. Trust me. This …is more important than what will happen outside tomorrow. I know the outcome of the attack on Konoha: except for a mountain of dirt and rubble, there is nothing to fear; but I do NOT know what will happen inside this room."

"But what about Tsunade…she'll rip my guts out if she finds out …"

"Your apartment will be a casualty in this fight. Tell Tsunade that Mara was sleeping at your place, because you were both sick and that you were injured in the commotion and had to heal both Mara and yourself, and could not make it in time. Ok?"

"Ok. That's truly plausible. Thank you."

"No … thank you and Mara for staying by my side."

"No problem." She told me while giving me the kindest and most sincerest smile I had ever seen.

After we hugged I carefully took Itachi's fake body into my arms, made a Doton string of hand seals and vanished into the time-space continuum, only to appear underground inside the earth.

Damn…the body was still warm…Karin really outdid herself.

Activating my Jagan I started to watch the fight from beneath. Sasuke was currently throwing an immense lightning jutsu Itachi's way. Susanoo protected him but he was not in good condition. Concluding that I didn't need to see this tormenting image for the second time in my life, I opted to scan the place for any other watchers. There he was: Zetsu was some ware up high, safe from the full throttle of the fight.

Even though I was concentrating on Zetsu, I could still see the fight; my Jagan still had 360 degree vision unfortunately. As I saw Itachi's body hit the ground, the knot in my stomach got tighter; I got more focused and after Sasuke passed out Zetsu finally left to break the news to Madara. That was my queue. I checked to see if there was anybody else there…there wasn't, I was alone…well almost…if you count two corpses and an unconscious body… I rose from the ground, fake body in hand. I took Itachi's real body in my arms, and placed the fake body exactly where Itachi's had been. All I had to do now was take the ring off Itachi's finger and place on the fake corpse's finger. That was the problem…it wouldn't come off _Itachi's_ finger. –_Shit! _I swore in my mind- the sticky blood and probably the lack of sleep due to his illness probably made his fingers swell up a bit; and my keen instincts told me that I had less than 30 seconds to get out of there. There was only one thing o could do…and I did it. I put Itachi's blood coated ring finger in my mouth, slowly but surely taking it off with my teeth. I thoroughly wiped it clean on my sleeve, as to not eave any fingerprints or DNA, and put it on the fake corpse's finger, thanking all the Gods in the Universe that it got smeared with more blood when I did so, because it would have seemed suspicious if the ring was clean and the body full of blood.

With my Jagan I could see that no one had arrived to the scene yet and so I teleported back to the room…I was not discovered…that was a great relief, but I was not out f the woods just yet.

I placed Itachi on the operating table we had brought in this morning. He had been dead for about three and a half minutes, which would leave us with about 90 second before we could worry about brain damage.

"KARIN! MARA! WAKE UP!" They both sprung to life from the wooden floor at my scream "WE HAVE LESS THAN 80 SECONDS TO GET HIS HEART PUMPING!"

"Got it! Mara! Intubate him!" Karin instructed

"I don't know how…"

"Shove this down his thought" She said shoving Mara the necessary tools. "Girl…look at me…you've seen it done…it's no big deal. Do it!"

I'm sure Karin would have done it herself if it wasn't for the fact that she was trying to attach the pacemaker to Itachi's heart. I had already taken out a bag of blood and was inserting a needle into Itachi's vein, which seamed an almost impossible feat, because his flawless porcelain skin wasn't helping me see what I needed to see right now. I had finally managed to stick him with the needle and hopefully I didn't miss the vein. Mara was panicking. She had not been in any hospital situation in her life. I on the other hand handled stressing situations rather nicely and Karin was a doctor. So I got a good idea:

"Mara look at me" I said "Are you any good with medical ninjutsu?" She nodded "Perfect…heal any deep gashes and cuts and that might gush out blood ok?"

"Ok." She said as if in a daze.

Perfect. That just left Karin and I to handle… the rest. I finished the intubation, and heard Karin swear and say that out of all the things to forget it had to be the defibrillator. She had already gotten the pacemaker attached all we needed was one little push of electricity to get it started.

"We don't need one!" I yelled over the ruckus.

Making the necessary hand seals, I charged some electricity in the palms of my hands. "CLEAR!" I yelled, and all hands were off him. I pressed my palms to his chest and shocked his heart once. The first beep that I heard was the first of many steady beeps to come and it was the most beautiful sound I thought I had ever heard.

Activating my Jagan I scanned his head and I was happy to pronounce: "Absolutely NO brain damage!"

Healing him afterwards was extremely easy, even getting rid of the TB was easy. The next best thing was bringing him back to life. Seemingly his soul already left the body and was prevented from entering again.

I took Tensseiga from where I had placed her earlier on the table. Unsheathing the sword I felt another kind of energy flow through me, and then everything except for me and the sword went black. Then I heard another voice this time it was a woman:

"Are you my wielder?" She asked.

"No I am not."

"Then why do you seek my power?"

"To protect a dear friend."

"Protect?"

"Yes."

"Good then your wish shall be granted."

Just like the first time my vision came back and now I could see a glowing light above Itachi's body. On top of him there were a bunch of little demons. They were obviously preventing the soul from going in. With a flick of my wrist I slashed the sword and a white blinding light dispelled al those little creatures. Sheathing back the sword I handed it to Karin to be her wilder, and then I stepped next to Itachi and took his hand in mine.

The smallest twitch of his finger, the gentlest battering of his eyelashes…and then…he opened his eyes.

"Itachi…you're alive…youkata…" Was all I said before complete exhaustion took over me and I passed out.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**

**TBC.  
**


	4. Finally Back To Me

HEY guys this is chapter 4 of my itachi odyssey XD, and I'm not getting enough reviews. I'm pretty upset because i don't know if i should keep going or not.

DISCLAIMER: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto, and the sword names form the last chapter belong entirely to Inuyasha and its creator. XD

* * *

Muffled sounds…I couldn't make out what they were saying… I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't. I panicked and put my hands over my face…bandages?

"She's awake" – I heard-

"Mara… Tend to Itachi… "- That was Karin's voice, so I relaxed a bit-

"Jessie? Can you hear me?"

"Yes!" – I said annoyed-

"Good…now…I'm going to take off the bandages."

"What happened?"

"Judging by your level of exhaustion, I estimated that you would be out cold for at least an hour… so I performed the surgery you told me to. It only took 32 minutes. Itachi's still out from the morphine I gave him." - Karin explained as she started to remove the cloths from my eyes.-

"Why did you sedate him? This kind of procedure doesn't call for a full body sedation."

"I know…but he kept asking what happened to you, and he almost ripped out his I.V."

"Oh…" - The bandages were almost removed, I could sense light.

"Look…your vision will be blurry the first two or three minutes because f the eye drops I gave you to dilate your pupils."

Ok.

She was right. My vision was blurry and even the dim candle light of the little room we were in, seemed to torture my eyes. It didn't last long though…in a couple of minutes my vision returned to normal and I glanced at the operating table to my right, to see a now clean and sleeping Uchiha Itachi.

"How is he?" – I asked -

"He's been taken off the pacemaker and we extubated him. He's lost a lot of blood so we're still transfusing, to get his PB (blood pressure) up to normal. But overall…he's just fine…except for the being sedated part."

Feeling a sharp pain in the back of my skull, as I got down from the table I was placed, I put my hand over the small source of pain, only to discover a bump…

"How the hell did I get this thing" – I said wincing –

"Oh…sorry about that…" - Mara said, lifting herself up from a chair in a far corner if the room-; I hadn't even noticed her until now- after that bright light – she continued – "Both Karin and I were dumbstruck and we didn't react when you passed out…so you fell to the floor… that's when Itachi got up and almost ripped out his I.V. and Karin had to sedate him…I carried you to the table, but you hit your head pretty hard on the floor."

"Oh…"

"Here, let me help you with that" – Karin said as she began to heal my bump-

"Aren't you tired?" – I asked her-

"I still have more chakra than you."

"Thanks… That really makes me feel better. When is he supposed to wake up?" – I asked motioning to Itachi's sleeping frame.

"Any minute now."

As if on queue, Itachi started to stir. I went straight over to him and took his right hand in mine. He still had bandages over his eyes, so I needed to act before he panicked.

"Itachi? Can you hear me? It's Jessie."

"Hn…"

"Itachi?"

"Yes."

"Good guess you can here me…how are you?"

"I should be dead…but obviously I'm not…so I don't know how I am…I'll get back to you on that." – he said acidly sarcastic- "You fell to the floor right in front of me. What happened?"

"Passed out from exhaustion. Long story…"

"Why am I blindfolded?"

"Itachi…if Mangekyo looses its light in a certain amount of time, what would happen if it were stabilized by another chain of DNA? It would probably become Eternal Mangekyo wouldn't it?"

"Where are you getting at?"

"See for yourself "– I said and started to undo the bandages.-

"Your eyes might be a bit blurry because of some drops I gave you" – Karin said-

With the bandages completely taken off, Itachi opened his eyes…and flinched. If the light was annoying him, which meant that his retina was definitely healed. We waited out the three minutes. His hand still in mine, I squeezed it slightly as if to let him know I was still there, but he pulled away.

"I can see perfectly" – he said coldly-

"Itachi?" – No response – "Itachi…are you mad at me?"

"Mad does not even cut it! I'm furious!" – He said harshly- "If only you could have left things the way they were, Sasuke would have had the Mangekyo by now and…" - he started to yell at me-

"THE WAY THEY WERE?" – I screamed at him- "YOU UNGREATEFULL LITTLE FUCK! SASUKE ALREADY HAS THE MANGEKYO! DON'T YOU GET IT? YOU ALREADY DIED ONCE, SASUKE KILLED YOU, AND NOW YOU'RE BACK TO LIFE!"

"He has the Eyes?"

"Yes he does!" – I stopped screaming but my tone was still harsh and loud – "Do you actually think that I would do something against you after your mind was already made up? Don't you remember what I told you the other night? 'If I could make it better **after** you finish what you started'! AFTER! Not before. Everything is as if you had already died. The Akatsuki even has your body. A fake one, but they will never know that."

"You knew what I was going to do?" – He was calmer now, but his voice still held a tint anger -

"Since before you and Kisame entered through my window. And I had started planning this the day I got my powers back…do you remember what I said to you after I asked you if you were still my best friend?"

"You asked me not to fight you too much…" - he said a little saddened with the realization of what I had meant –

I kept staring at him while trying to keep my cool. Acting all tough in front of Itachi was certainly difficult for me now. The sheer joy of having him near me, alive, was all that I could think about, but I was also aware of the fact that I had to be strong and determined in order to reach out to him. My heart was pounding like crazy; the tension was melting me down: "Damn, I'm a softy! Can't stay mad at you no matter what…lucky bastard..." But I still snapped at him:

"Itachi no Baka, you don't understand a thing! Why won't you a trust me?!! I'm not a child! Look at me properly!"

A desperate silence followed my words. I looked away and I turned my back, trying to hold it together and not cry. I was still intrigued by his blindness to my reasons. Suddenly he grabbed my hand.

"I know..." - He muttered, and honestly that's all I needed to hear.

"Do you have any idea how much it hurts me for you to be angry with me? Do you know how scared I am of losing you?"

Soon enough I was overwhelmed by emotions and my act came falling apart as I started to cry.

"I'm not a child!" – He reached out and pulled me to his chest, holding me tightly- "I'm not a child… I'm not a child" – I kept muttering, chocking between tears.-

When he pulled me to him he pulled me onto the bed as well and we slept there for the rest of the day.

* * *

_Madara? What's he doing here? No not here…__**I **__was there. Where was "there"?_

"_Itachi died five days ago." – Madara said to someone I could not yet see – _

"_Just as you predicted…he lost to Sasuke, right?" - A very familiar voice said-_

"_Indeed."_

"_And Sasuke?" - That voice said. I was sure I had heard it before…a long time ago, but I could not place my finger on it –_

"_He is with the rest of Akatsuki in Amegakure."_

"_Good. We will need his eyes." – The voice came from a darker part of the room, so I could only make out a dark silhouette. –_

"_He did not choose to take Itachi's eyes" – Madara stated –_

"_Predictable…now that he knows the truth about his brother…but that will not be a problem. Have you given any thought about my proposal?"_

"_Of course, Alexia will be most welcomed as a new member of Akatsuki."_

"_Good. Then she will join you tomorrow. Good day Madara."_

"_Good day…"- The Uchiha bid and disappeared –_

_The room was left silent. I strained my eyes to try to catch a glimpse of the man that stood in the shadows, but to no avail._

"_Alexia!" – He called –_

"_Yes…" - a small feminine voice answered –_

_She had entered through a set of grand doors from my right. A petite girl stood by the entrance; I could tell she was not more than 14 years of age, and she also seemed very familiar to me._

"_Do you know what you have to do?" – The voice in the shadows asked – _

"_Yes…I must stay by Madara's side, and a week from now, I must place the Jutsu you taught me on him, incapacitating his use if the time-space continuum. Then you will be able to take his eyes and rule the entire world."_

"_Very good. Now go get ready. You leave for Akatsuki tonight."_

"_Understood. – She said exiting – _

_

* * *

_I woke up startled, almost falling of the bed. It took me a minute to realize where I was, and if I was still dreaming. Then I noticed a pair of black eyes, framed by a pair of mascara-commercial eyelashes, staring at me with a worried expression; they belonged to Itachi, whom I was still sharing a bed with.

"What's wrong?" – He asked –

"We have a problem…"

The whole room was silent. Mara and Karin, had woken a bit before I did, and clearly heard what I said; now all three of them were staring at me, awaiting an explanation.

"You two will probably kill me for this, but I wasn't entirely truthful with you when I said that Pein's attack will have no casualties…I mean nobody died, but Tsunade is in a coma because she used up all her chakra defending Konoha."

"Why didn't you tell us?" – Karin asked in a furious tone –

"Would you have stayed with me? Or would you have gone to help, changing the course of history and ruining all we did up until now?" – I asked annoyed-

They both fell silent, letting the words I said sink in and probably realizing I was right.

"Danzo will be named temporary Hokage." – As I said that I felt Itachi stiffen beside me – "Itachi…" - I said turning to him – "I know you didn't want your brother to know what you did for him, and I also know that you didn't want him anywhere near Madara, but it's too late now…he's with Akatsuki, and already knows your truth. He intends to crush Konoha; Danzo and the Elders above everything. He wants to avenge you. Moreover he's in a lot of trouble."

"I don't understand how you know all this." – He said. He was clearly worried-

"I have certain dreams. Sometimes they tell me about the past, sometimes the present, but lately they have been showing me the future. That's how I knew what to do to save you without changing your plans." – I paused a bit, and then I continued addressing everyone in the room. – "Sasuke is in trouble. Madara is working with someone. I don't know who he is but I know he's strong…very strong. In four days, a young girl will join Akatsuki. She has the mission to spy on Madara and incapacitate him so this said man can take his eyes and, as she put it: 'rule the world'. He also mentioned that he needs Sasuke's eyes. This will happen in approximately eleven days. So we have a little less than two weeks to… save Sasuke …and the world."

"This would imply that we need to save Madara too?" – Mara asked –

"Probably" – I said thoughtfully –

"I don't know if that's safe…"- Itachi stated –

"Me neither, but I don't think there's any other way. Itachi…" – I said looking his way again – "We pieced together your file and gave to the Daimyo to see. You are theoretically pardoned from all your actions. We will find a way to pardon Sasuke as well but now we have bigger problems."

"What do you propose we do?" – he asked me –

"The Akatsuki should move to Amegakure in a while, leaving the previous hideout unoccupied."

"They already have." – Itachi said – "They cleaned out before Pein left for Konoha."

"Good. Then we move out of here, and set up base there for a while, and then we can figure out what we need to do."

We gathered our stuff, while Karin took Itachi of the saline I.V. – which I presumed she switched from the blood while we slept – and gathered in the middle of the room.

"Do you have enough chakra for this?" – Karin asked worried –

"Yeah…there are four of us…are you gonna be ok?" –Mara said –

"I'll be just fine…and besides… I'll have enough time to build up my chakra once we get there."

With that, I ripped open a portal in the space-time continuum again, and teleported us into the Victorian mansion I had previously escaped from.

* * *

"FUCK THIS SHIT!" – was the first thing I heard after we appeared. It was Karin. – "I feel sick! AGAIN!!"

"Oh…me too." – Mara spoke – "Now I know what you meant Karin…"

"Sorry" – I said innocently. Even Itachi had a little greenish tint to his face, but he didn't complain.

Both girls sat down on the floor to wait out the nausea. Even Itachi leaned against the closest wall. After a short while it went away and the girls stood up.

"Maaaaan….so this is an Akatsuki hideout? Pretty neat." – Karin said looking around –

"I agree" – Mara continued –

The mansion was a sight to be seen. It was grand and beautifully decorated. Even the colors pleased the eye. Brown mixed with beige wonderfully and the classic Victorian wooden furniture accommodated perfectly with the whole scenario.

"As much as I would love to hear you praise the place in which I spent my last couple of months surrounded by, except for Itachi, the biggest bastards in the world, with Madara as their leader, I would rather we settled in."

"Whatever…" - the girls said –

"The bedrooms are upstairs. You two take the one on the left side."

"Ok… "- Mara said heading up –

"Where will you sleep?" – Karin asked me –

"I used to sleep in the same room as Konan." – I said as we started to climb the stares – "That's the second room from the middle. But since I'm not very fond of sleeping alone, I'll stay with Itachi tonight. He used to share a room with Kisame."

Hearing what I had said Itachi stopped dead in his tracks.

"But "– he started – "Kisame and I shared a bed here…"

"I know. It's a three meter wide bed. I'm not gonna hog the covers." – I said sarcastically –

The girls settled in their room and we entered ours.

* * *

Hey. I'm relay getting bored of not knowing what the hell i'm doing with my story so i'm asking you to pleeeese tell me what you think about it. Also any grammar mistakes that you spot, pls report them. 


	5. Akatsuki Again

Hey there...this is chap 5 of my story... look...I'm deeply concerned... i practically begged for reviews and still you gave me none. I have made up my mind. I enjoy writing this story, so I will keep posting chapters in spite of the lack of feedback. but i would still appreciate some comments here and there.

BTW, i kind of made Itachi a little OOC in this one so you're going to have to bera with me a little

Lime in this chappy :D

* * *

Line from last chapter:

~The girls settled in their room and we entered ours.

* * *

"All your stuff is still here." – I noticed –

"I didn't pack…you know…I planed on dying…"

"Funnyyyy!" - I said sarcastically, as I noticed a little smile creep over his lips. –

"I'm taking a shower and I'm borrowing a towel." – I let him know, as I took a clean towel from where I knew he kept them and entering the bathroom –

As I let the hot water run down my body, I couldn't help but remember the day both Itachi and Kisame entered my hotel room. How ignorant I had been then…I thought it was just a dream. Such beauty couldn't be real. Itachi was a truly beautiful man. Even in his early years, when we used to spend time together at the lake, we didn't have any time to speak to each other outside our little secret place; first of all because of classes and the other were those wretched fan-girls of his. They swarmed around him every minute of every day. Was I even special to him? Or did he see me like he saw the others? Not once in his life did he pay any attention to them. He never listened to what they had to say. All those love declarations and letters they gave him. Would he push me away too if he knew how I felt?

Finishing my shower, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. When I exited the bathroom, I found Itachi in his boxers, towel in hand waiting his turn.

"Do you have a sick pleasure of appearing half- naked in front of me?" – I asked mocking him –

"I could ask you the same thing…" - he teased -

Shit! I was only wearing a towel…Again!

"Ok fine! You got me! Now go wash yourself…you still smell like blood."

"Thank you." – He said sarcastically –

"Your welcome!"– I chirped to him as he shut the bathroom door behind him –

I had on a black bustier and a pair of black girl-boxers when he entered the bedroom.

"I actually didn't think I'd find you more naked than when I left you" – Itachi remarked sarcastically –

"Ha! Ha! Very funny! Can I borrow a shirt?"

"Only if you say 'please'"

"You really piss me off! Did you know that?"

"Yes." – He replied calmly –

"Fine! Fine! Pleeeeese can I borrow a shirt."

"Sure." – He said handing me a kaki cotton T-shirt –

"Thanks." – I said turning around so he could put on a pair of clean boxers –

We were both in bed in 5 minutes time. I was only wearing his T-shirt over my lingerie and he was wearing a pair of black boxers and a simple black T-shirt. The light was off but neither of us was sleeping. In the dark I noticed something sparkling at his neck, so I extended my hand from the left side of the bed, to his right side and took a look at what caught my attention. He seemed a bit startled by my action, but relaxed immediately after he realized what I was doing.

"I know this" – I said – "I gave this to you and said that you should give it back to me when I become stronger than you. You still have it."

"Yes. I kept it…"- a moment of silence passed – "Jess…"- he started – "I wanted to thank you for doing what you did. If you wouldn't have saved me I could not be able to protect Sasuke now. So … I guess what I wanted to say is that I'm sorry for getting mad at you."

"It's ok. I forgave you the moment you hugged me. You know I can't stay mad at you."

"I know it couldn't have been easy for you to do everything you did."

"I wasn't alone…the girls…"

"The girls followed what you told them to do. I would not be able to do what you did in the last 48 hours. It's not easy to oppose fait. And you did just that, and won."

"Itachi…I …"- but he stopped me again -

"That makes you stronger than me" – he said unclasping the necklace from his own neck and scooting closer so that he could put it around mine. –

Putting his arms around my neck, he clasped it closed. The action brought us much more closely than we were. His hand, which was on my shoulder, slid down my arm to my waist and paused there. I put my free arm around his torso. As I did so, I felt his muscles flex under my touch. We moved closer together. So close that I could feel his breath on my face, I could smell his sweet scent, and oh… how I missed it. Finally I felt his lips on mine. That's the moment where my brain practically exploded. I tried to push him slightly as to ask what had gotten into him, but he made a sound that sounded almost like a growl, stopping my actions. My senses were overwhelmed. I slid my hand lower and under his shirt, over his creamy skin, brushing over his left nipple, hearing him emit a low rumble from his chest. He swiftly shifted our positions so he was on top and between my legs. He ran his hands over my taut abdomen and over my covered breasts, lifting the T-shirt I was wearing in the process…all this time never parting our lips from one another. I moaned into his mouth, as we never broke the kiss. He growled again and thrust his tongue deeper through my swollen lips. His taste was like a drug: sweet and spicy and something unique that could only be defined as Itachi. He bit my lower lip tugging on it slightly, and I opened my eyes to see two red orbs staring at me. His hair undone and Sharingan activated, he looked almost feral, and that turned me on even more, if possible.

As things were getting heated we heard a knock on the door. Itachi jumped off me and I started laughing at him. Noticing he smiled too, I placed another soft kiss on his lips and answered the door. It was Mara.

"Karin found something I think you two need to take a look at." – She stated – "aaaaa….am I interrupting anything?"

"Not really…" - Itachi answered getting out of bed –

We made our way to the girl's room where Karin was sitting on the bed with her laptop. She motioned for us to come closer.

"Guys…you need to see this." – She said –

All three of us gathered around her, looking at the screen. It was a replica of our Solar System. It probably was one of those programs in which you entered a date and it would show you the planet's position at the according time.

"I was a little curious about the time instructions you gave us…eleven days…and I started looking up the date. I came across an interesting article that dated a partial planetary alignment that will happen eleven days from now. Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, and Mars, will be exactly aligned. – She showed us the simulation – but that's not uncommon. It happens every thirty years or so. Even though it does shift some of the energies of the planets, making the moon's influence on the Earth's energies stronger, it does not have a very noticeable effect. But then I looked up the same date, but the following year. It's a phenomena that only happens once every 225 years: all the planets of our Solar System will be aligned… so my guess is that whatever that man has planed with Madara and Sasuke's eyes, he'll do it then."

"But why not wait for that exact time to do it?" – Mara asked what was probably on everyone's mind –

"I believe the partial alignment gives enough energy for the first ritual to be complete, and he probably doesn't want to risk not being able to take their eyes on time for the pentacle of the alignment. 'Better two chances than one' is probably what he's thinking." – Karin theorized –

"So where is this ritual going to be held?" – Itachi asked looking at me –

"Hey! Don't look at me… I already told you everything I know. But there is a way I can find out…"

"And how do you plan on doing it this time?" – Mara asked me –

"I'm going back to Akatsuki!" – I said directly – "I'm sure I can talk Madara into taking me back."

"That's too dangerous" – Itachi stated. –

"I know…but I have to do something, or else your brother and the whole world is in danger. I'm leaving tonight." – I said storming out of the room, to pack my bags -

I was packed and ready to go when Itachi entered the room. He stared at me from the doorway with a worried expression. I looked back at him, not knowing what to say.

"You need to come back you know" – he started – "you still haven't beaten me at sparring. You have a promise to keep. You said you'd prove to me you got stronger than me."

"I'll be ok." – I said while coming closer to him – "I'll come back. I'll do this!"

"I trust you…" - he reassured, then kissed me gently, as if to say goodbye -

When we got downstairs, both Karin and Mara were waiting for us. None of the girls tried to talk me out of my decision. They could see that my mind was already made up. They just stood there with sad and worried expressions. I hugged them both, they wished me good luck, and I promised them that I would come back, and then I disappeared to Amegakure.

It was raining, and it was cold. I hated cold and damp places. Thinking I needed to save my chakra in case anything went wrong, I decided not to use my Jagan to find the new Akatsuki hideout, so I went on foot, asking around.

It took me almost the entire night to find a lead; something about an old fortress on the outskirts of Amegakure. It _was _my only lead, so I decided to go there.

I stood in front of a great hill. On top of it lay an old looking, but sill stern, medieval building made of stone. When I started to approach, I felt Zetsu's chakra flair. So he was the sentinel and he had already gone to worn Madara of my approach.

When I reached the gates I was greeted by Zetsu.

"Why are you here?" – the lighter half asked me –

"I want to come back to Akatsuki. Whose permission do I have to ask?"

"And you think we'll let you come back just like that?" – this time his dark half spoke -

"Pein is dead…who is you leader? Who do I need to talk to?" – I asked disregarding his previous question –

"You…"- Zetsu's dark side started again, but was interrupted by Tobi/Madara who had just appeared next to him –

"Ma! Ma! Jessie!" – He said sounding worried – "Come inside! It's raining…you'll catch a cold."

"Tobi!" – I said trying to sound happy and exited for seeing him –

"You've come back! Tobi is so glad! Tobi was getting lonely!"

"Yes. I'm back Tobi and I'm so sorry for leaving" – I said as he gave me a hug and pretended to try and worm me up by rubbing my forearms with his gloved hands –" Who is the leader now? I need to talk to him and tell him that…" - but I was interrupted by the man that was holding me speaking in a much deeper voice, and a more serious tone –

"So you will be the last one to find out then…"

"Tobi?" – I tried to act startled –

"Actually…my name is not Tobi…I'm Uchiha Madara" – he said removing the orange mask -

I knew a lot of things, but nothing I had ever learned could have prepared me for what I was about to see. Madara looked hot…and young; well…much younger than he was supposed to be at least. He was in his early thirties, shoulder length spiky black hair, which up until now was hidden by the back of his mask, pleasant features, full lips and a pair of good looking Sharingan eyes.

"And _I_ am the leader of Akatsuki." – He continued –

"_The _Uchiha Madara? The one who supposedly died at the Valley of the End?"

"Supposedly is very well stated…as you can see I am very much alive. Why did you leave in the first place?"

"I…I don't know…I guess I freaked out because of Pein attacking Konoha and all. As you know, when I was four, I had witnessed the third great shinobi war…and I'm not a great fan of war." – I said as we started walking – "Madara…I'll take any promise of a world without war that you offer. Please take me back. I want to help make this world all better."

"You're a good fighter Jessie. I'll gladly have you back. But don't run off like that again; you'll make me worry."

"I won't. I promise."

"Now, I'll walk you to your room. You should take a shower and get some rest. I'll introduce you to team Taka tomorrow, and your partner Kisame is still with us, if you are still willing to work with him."

"Of course I am." – I said trying to sound as happy as I could –

"How did you take the news about Itachi's death?"

"Not very lightly…" - I answered bowing my head slightly as to seem sad – "But I'll be just fine."

"I'm glad to hear that. Here…this is your room. You will find everything you may need there. Good night."

"Thank you. Good night." – I bid to him before he turned around and left –

I took the hot shower to worm up, and then I got in bed. This was it…tomorrow the show began.

* * *

FEED ME SOME REVIEWS PEOPLE!!! PLEASEEEE!!!


	6. Sasuke

**Hello there my wonderful readers. I have re-posted chapter 6.** **Minor changes. **

**Thank you rogueman999 for the wonderful and indisputably helpful reviews...and no, you are not too critical.**

**Thank you DeeaE for sticking with my story and being patient with the slow updates, and for reviewing for me.**

**And thank you to all my reviewers. You are the ones that make me happy and make me want to stay up at night and wright for you.  
**

* * *

The sun rose straight into my window. I had overslept. This did not happen to me very often, but considering what I had been through in the last couple of days, it was understandable. I brushed my teeth and I put on a black bustier, a black baggy t-shirt and a pair of jeans over my boxers. Noticing a full length mirror on the opposite wall of the bathroom door in the bedroom, I took a good look at my self. I didn't look bad: long legs, flat abdomen, mostly due to the intensive training I had been through with Akatsuki, C cup breasts, I was 1,65 meters tall and had 50 kilograms in weight, my long wavy to curly hair that went down almost to my waist, and my dark brownish-green eyes; but the last days of stress and lack of sleep had gotten to me: I had dark circles under my eyes and I looked downright tired.

Noticing an Akatsuki cloak perched on a chair next to the door (Madara or Kisame must have left it there this morning…I was so tired I didn't even notice) I took it and put it on. It fit…glad to see Madara actually knew my measurements. The thought was scary as well as reassuring: that meant that I was not utterly ignored, but if he actually paid attention to me…that would mean I had to watch my step around him.

While I was walking down the stairs, I could hear the voices of the people in the living room:

"We, Taka, will destroy Konoha." – One of the voices said. It sounded familiarly close to Itachi's, so it must have been Sasuke –

"You say that, but how do you intend to go about it?" - That was Madara. -

I stopped dead in my tracks, completely concealing my chakra.

"We're going to kill the Elders. The others are not our immediate concern." – Sasuke continued –

"If you aim high, the ones below will shield them. It won't be that easy. You so-called "Taka" don't have enough strength for that." – I recognized Kisame's voice…always the wise one –

"Kisame Sempai" – a voice I had never heard addressed my former and now current partner – "You shouldn't underestimate us. We still haven't settled that last game of ours. This time I'm serious." – The voice said. It sounded like a boy, and one of the chakras in the room was emitting a strong killing intent…probably his… -

"Stop it Suigetsu!" – Another voice said this time it sounded more like a man's voice…although I was not familiar with it either -

Then I hard a slight clash of a heavy sword hitting something. That's when I decided to make my entrance. I descended the rest of the flight of stares and entered the living room, though I still kept silent. It was a large stone room with six crooked pillars surrounding a table, with two seats on opposite ends. Madara had stopped a blow from a rather large sword wielded by a young sixteen year old boy, with his bare hand. The boy had white hair and was wearing a mauve tight outfit. One of the chairs was occupied by a young boy…about seventeen, with short spiky black hair and bangs that framed his face. His eyes were grayish black, he had porcelain skin, and he looked a lot like Itachi. He grew up so much since I last saw him. Sasuke was only three years old when I left the village. He was emitting such a strong dark aura…so different from when I first saw him.

* * *

**A five year old me sat on a tatami in the living room. The sun shined through the wall length window on my face. My eyes were closed. All I could see through my shut eyelids was red; and it was beautiful…my favorite color. I was meditating. Suddenly, someone burst into the room. It was Itachi. He had developed a habit of coming into my house uninvited, and without knocking…not that I minded…I enjoyed his company anytime I could get it.**

"**You have to come with me quick!" – He said out of breath – **

"**Is something wrong?"**

"**Just come! Hurry!"**

**I followed him through the busy streets of Konoha. It was July the 23****rd**** in the afternoon and the town was crowded. We arrived at the hospital.**

"**Itachi" – I stopped him – "What's wrong?" – I was beginning to get really worried…him heading me to the hospital in such a hurry…Was someone hurt? – **

"**Nothing. Everything's fine. Just follow me."**

**He led me to a private room. There on the bed lay his mother, asleep. He silently walked past her and to a crib next to her. Now it all clicked into place. Mikoto was pregnant and due about this time of the month. Itachi's baby brother had been born and he wanted me to see him. I slowly waked to the crib.**

"**This is Sasuke…my baby brother." – He told me smiling - **

**And such a bright smile it was. It was rare even for me to see such a wonderful smile on his lips; and I was the one he displayed the most emotion with.**

**Looking into the small crib I saw the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. A baby boy…so innocent…so frail…so…beautiful. I carefully took him into my own small arms, and Itachi put his hands on my shoulders.**

"**Sasuke…"- I said in a low voice - **

**Love was all I could feel for the bundle of innocence I was holding…pure and simple L O V E.**

"**How sweet…"- I heard Mikoto's voice in the background – "Nurse. Take a picture!"**

**Both Itachi and I turned to look at the nurse in the doorway who snapped a picture of us, with me holding Sasuke. I turned back to the baby. He was staring wide eyed at me.**

"**Isn't he wonderful?" – Itachi asked me – **

"**Yes he is" – I said smiling – **

"**Hello Sasuke. I'm your Aniki, and I'll protect you forever. **

* * *

"Sasuke! You haven't trained them well!" – Madara's harsh voice snapped me back to reality. –

"Suigetsu!" – A red head girl, who also seemed about seventeen, started to yell at him – "Are you stupid? This isn't the place to…"

"My objective is the Shark Skin Sword Samehada" – the young white haired boy, obviously named Suigetsu interrupted her – "I've been hanging with Sasuke only so I could get that!" – He continued –

"Sasuke…What will you do?" – A red haired mad asked –

"All right" – Sasuke coldly sated – "Go for it if you want to Suigetsu. You probably can't beat him yet anyway."

Kisame chuckled. Samehada was his sword. She had the power to drain her adversary's chakra, feeding upon it. I could sense that the boy was strong, but no mach for Kisame. My thought was that he never will be either.

"Oh…Thanks a lot Sasuke" – Suigetsu stated – "Just hold tight! I'll treat you to some tasty shark's fin soon enough."

"Akatsuki is also low on man power." – Madara interrupted the conversation – "I would like to avoid unnecessary skirmishes."

"You shouldn't criticize others you know" – Suigetsu stated –

"We share common interests." – The older Uchiha continued – "From here on Taka will work together with the Akatsuki."

"And what's in it for us?" – The question came from Sasuke –

"I'll give you a Bijou."

"A Tailed Beast?" – Sasuke asked perplexed –

"You don't know of them?" – Madara said surprised by the boy's ignorance -

That's when I decided to speak up. Even though the old Uchiha might have noticed my presence, I was sure that none of the others had.

"Chakra monsters" – I started, and all eyes turned to me – "They posses great power…like your old friend…Naruto. Remember him? He's the Nine Tailed Fox Kyuubi. Originally the first Hokage collected them and kept them under his control. You can call them the ultimate chakra weapons."

"That's very generous of you" – Sasuke's statement was directed to Madara –

"However if you betray Akatsuki, you will die accordingly." – The Akatsuki leader told him -

"Humph. And who are you?" – Sasuke finally asked me –

"Before you ask someone's name, it's polite to give yours first" – I stated coldly –

"Uchiha Sasuke.

"Uchiha…Sasuke?" – I asked succeeding in sounding angry – "Itachi's little brother? The one who killed him?"

"Hai" – He said trying to sound stoic, but thoroughly failed the task. I could see the emotions flash through his eyes: anger, hurt, and sorrow. -

"Jessica Kristina Bannon." – I said with an icy tone –

"Welcome back princess." – Kisame greeted, throwing an arm around my shoulder –

He had developed a habit of calling me "princess" since I was the only girl in Akatsuki he could taunt, but I didn't mind. I knew that in a strange and personal way, he cared for me.

"I wish I could say it's good to be back but I'm not happy with these weaklings in our organization. Madara, are we so short on man power that we need these low lifers hanging with us?"

"Jessie" – he started – "You are being rude."

"Rude? I could kill these four with one hand tied behind my back. If Itachi wouldn't have been sick, he would have wiped the floor with Sasuke! This is stooping to a new level of desperation!"

"JESSICA!" – Madara snapped –

"Forgive my insolence" – I said bowing my head – "It will not happen again."

"It seems that your former partner's death has affected you more than you let on."

"I assure you…that is not the case."

'Very well then. This is Karin (_What a strange coincidence, I though, she has the same name as 'my' Karin. But they are far too different. _) – Madara pointed to the red haired girl that had been screaming at Suigetsu – "Juugo" – a tall orange haired man, who I presumed was the voice I hadn't identified while I was descending the flight of stares, was standing next to Sasuke. He bowed his head politely. – "And Suigetsu."

"Pleased to meet you all." – I said in a monotone voice. –

"There are nine Bijoux in this world." – Kisame started to explain, trying to lighten the dark mood that was set upon the room – "Akatsuki has captured six of them so far, so there are three left."

"The Akatsuki and Taka will split up to hunt the remaining three" – Madara ordered –

"You don't have the Kyuubi yet do you?" – The young Uchiha asked –

"Taka will hunt Hachibi (the Eight Tailed Beast), and the Akatsuki will hunt the rest, including Naruto."

"Ha ha ha!" – I laughed – "You want them to go after Killer Bee? Excuse me while I go vomit!" Having said that I stormed out of the room and went outside.

* * *

Hook, line and sinker as Kisame would say. Madara was now sure that Sasuke and I hate each other, and he will try to keep me close to him and farther away from the others in fear of me plotting to rebel against him. I wasn't stupid. I knew he didn't take me back because he trusted me. He took me back because of the shortage in number of members, and manpower. And as far as anyone is concerned…I'm am pretty good fighter. He will eventually try to break me and Kisame apart, and by the time that happens, I would have to have Kisame on my side. I'll just have to play the victim for a little longer.

I knew for a fact Madara could not stand Itachi. Now that he was "dead" the older Uchiha could attack Konoha at his liking. Me being devastated by Itachi's (supposed) death was not an act meant to make Madara trust me, but to make him think I was at least easier to manipulate. I had never planed to come back here and gain anyone's trust…well maybe Kisame's…and Sasuke's.

"Princess?" – Kisame had come out after me…and he was alone – "Are you ok?"

"Hn…"

"Oh…great! You know I don't speak Uchiha."

"Sorry" – I laughed – "To answer your question…no…I'm not ok."

"You miss him?"

"Yes…do you?" – I spoke the truth…I couldn't wait to get back to him and is wonderful lips -

"All shinobi die before their time…"

"So… _do_ you? Miss him, I mean."

"Yes…"

"You know…that's not the reason I'm angry."

"If it's because of Taka…you should know…they're stronger than you think."

"I know." – I told him and he gave me a weird look but didn't say anything -

After a short pause I decided that this was a good of a time as any to actually talk to Kisame about my plans.

"Kisame?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Princess…a ninja only trust ones self. All other liaisons will lead to ones death."

"I didn't ask you to quote the "Shinobi Bible"; I asked you if you trusted me. A simple yes or no answer will suffice."

"Yes." – He said despite himself –

"What do you think about Madara?"

"I now you're not entirely loyal to him."

"Are we playing cat and mouse here? Answer the question and stop chasing your own tail."

"Vigilant as always" – he said chuckling – "I am not fond of the idea of living in a genjutsu for the rest of my life, if that's what you're asking."

"Not quite the answer I was hoping for, but it will do. So why are you still in Akatsuki? You're strong. You could get away easily."

"I get to fight strong shinobi…what can I say…it's fun."

"Fun?"

"It's kind 'a my addiction."

"Hard to get rid of those, these days" – I said referring to my nicotine addiction. –

"Yeah…it is."

"About the genjutsu thing…I don't think I like it either."

"So …Wacha gonna do?"

"I have a plan."

"Didn't expect less of you princess."

"Madara…he'll try to break us up."

"In spite of the way I act sometimes I'm not an idiot…I already figured that out."

"So what are _you_ going to do?"

"That plan of yours…what's it about?"

"Can't tell you much about it."

"Can it include an extra person?"

"I guess…"

"Do you trust me?"

"You just told me a shinobi should not trust anyone but one's self or else it will lead to his or hers demise."

"Don't believe everything you hear princess."

"Good to have you with us Kisame." – I said standing up to leave -

"Good to be on board princess." He said giving me one of his great shark grins.

I smiled back.

* * *

**Thank you for reading**

**TBC**


	7. Madara

**Next up KisameXJessie smut in ch 8... but until then, ravish in chapter 7. Enjoy XD**

* * *

The next day team Taka left for their hunt of the Hachibi. Madara, Kisame, Zetsu and I were the only ones in the base. The old Uchiha had ordered Kisame to do some chores around the building and he was currently trying to talk me into sparing with him, which I would have gladly done if I wouldn't have been busy with cleaning my room.

"Jessie! You can clean the room later." – He said –

"I can clean the room now!"

"Why?"

"Why what? Is there something bothering you?" – I asked him – "Are you afraid I'll do something if you leave me alone?"

"Will you?"

"No."

"Why are you here?"

"To stop War."

"That's you answer?"

"Yes."

"How long are you going to keep lying to me?"

"I'm not lying."

"You think you can fool me?" – He said angrily –

"Madara I…" - I couldn't finish my sentence because I was thrown into the wall, and now Madara was holding my wrists above my head and pressing his body into mine to keep me in place –

"If you think I'm blind to your reasons, let me assure you that you are gravely mistaken." – As soon as he said that, I started to panic –

"So what are my reasons, huh? Why did you even take me back in the first place?" – I was in deep shit and I knew it, and still I was trying to push his buttons. I was defiantly insane…Uchiha Madara, _the_ Uchiha Madara, it was official, I was dead. I had to turn this around somehow –

"You…" - He hissed at me, pressing his body painfully into mine as if to emphasize his point – "… are trying to get yourself killed."

"You don't understand. _I'm _the one that should avenge Itachi! Not that idiot brother of his! _I'm _the one that will kill the Elders and _I'm _the one that will smile in Danzo's face as he breathes his very last FUCKING breath by _my _hand!" – Nice turn of conversation if I could say so myself –

"So you _were_ in love with the boy." – It was a statement, so I didn't respond. I just glared at him. – "You always were a feisty girl." – He said tightening his grip on my wrists and easing the pressure of his body on mine, using that as a distraction to slip his knee between my legs –

"What are you doing?"

"Probably what I should have done a long time ago." – He said smirking – "Taming you… "- He explained and kissed me roughly -

The kiss was rough. Even though it didn't disgust me, it pissed me off to no end knowing the fact that he wanted to break me and my bond with Itachi, so I bit his tongue, which was currently shoved into my mouth. He hissed and drew back. I could see he wasn't pleased at the least, but he didn't hit me…and that was a very good thing considering I would not fight him just yet.

"I expect to see you at the training grounds in twenty minutes." – He said leaving -

I moped around for fifteen minutes inside my room, deciding that cleaning was futile now, and I took the rest of the five minutes to get ready for training.

* * *

The training ground was pretty large. A field of grass and dirt perfect for fighting: no trees no stumps nothing to hide behind and nothing to help you dodge attacks. Madara was standing in the middle of it, so I joined him. We decided to start off with taijutsu, and he motioned for me to start. I took up my fighting stance. He appeared behind me in am instant and tried to kick me in the side ribs, but I managed to block the attack twisting so that I could land my own kick directed to his neck. My leg went right through him. He then grabbed my leg and used my momentum to throw me into the ground, but I managed to rebalance myself in midair and land safely on the ground, putting a fair amount of distance between us.

I jumped towards him at full speed and he tried to block my incoming kick by grabbing my right foot between his forearm and his torso, so I took that to my advantage and spun around and tried to kick him with my left leg, which suffered the same fate as my right one.

At the moment both my legs were immobilized. I also took that to my advantage and gripped his torso with my thighs, and pulled out a kunai, which I intended to aim for his neck with. He gripped my thighs so hard I was sure I was going to have some nasty bruises next morning, prying them apart and throwing me a safe distance from him.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu" – he said. –

I braced myself for the coming of a Grand Fireball, and I wasn't disappointed. It was huge. He had a hell of a lot of control over his chakra. The taijutsu fight just turned into a ninjutsu one.

"Fuuton, Katon: Kamikaze no Jutsu (Heavenly Wind)" – I said and exhaled, a large amount of flames powered by a large gust of chakra enhanced wind, that came from my lips. It overpowered the Gokakyuu Madara had used, and almost hit him before he managed to dodge.

He then threw a combo of Suiton and Raiton my way, and I managed to block it with a Doton. How many chakra affinities did this guy have? Was he like me? I wasn't planning on finding out. I was going to end this now.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!" – I yelled, and sent a Large fire dragon toward Madara, cracking the ground in the process. He dodged it, as expected. Using the time it took for him to jump out of range; I started the combo I was going to use against him. It was a complicated one. I had learned it, in theory from Itachi, though he never managed to do it himself, because of his lack of affinity to Fuuton chakra. I started spinning in mid air.

"Fuuton: Grand Whirlwind. Katon: Blazing Inferno. Doton: Earth Lash" – I said as I was making the hand seals. The first jutsu started a whirlwind around me as I spun. The second one lit it on fire and the last one sent an earth tentacle around the blaze, turning it into magma. I had exited the center of the jutsu, stepping aside a bit so I could see what was going on in the battle field. Madara was staring wide eyed at my creation, which now looked like a winged giant snake, almost as big as a train.

He obviously didn't expect me to hit him with Kinjutsu. I stopped the jutsu just when it was about to deliver a strong blow. It started to melt, pooling magma to the ground as I stopped my combo.

"I think that this was sufficient for today." – I said walking inside the base, to find a very amazed Kisame staring at me from the doorway. I just smirked at him, and turned to face Madara. He had regained his composure. I knew he was more than capable of countering my attack, but I relished in the fact that I managed to surprise him with my strength, and that he underestimated me.

* * *

The night was arriving; I noticed staring at the red skyline through the window. Kisame and I were currently occupying two chairs at the kitchen table with glasses of sake in front of us. We usually chit chatted in times like these, when we were drinking together, but tonight, Madara stood quietly leaned against the counter watching us, so as we don't plot. Clever little 'bitch' wasn't he?

I took another sip of the potent liquor in front of me, feeling the pleasant burn as in went down and stole a quick glance at Kisame. He knowingly returned it. Obviously Madara's presence bothered him as well, even if the old Uchiha used to be the Mizukage of Kirigakure in Water Country (the missing Nin's former home).

"So…How'd you do that Jutsu Combo today?" – He asked in spite of the Uchiha's presence.

"Itachi talked about it. He explained it to me in theory. It was the first time I tried it."

"Really?" – He asked bewildered "Never would have thought…"

"Thanks" – I said smirking as I caught Madara glaring at me with the corner of my eye.

"Could Itachi really do that? I've never seen him…"

"Nope…he couldn't use Fuuton. But he read about it in a scroll once…I believe he was thirteen at the time and came across it in the ROOT library." – I explained.

Kisame was about to ask me something else, when we felt Zetsu's chakra as he entered the base. Before we knew it, the Venus Fly Trap was standing in the doorway.

"Teem Taka are back." – He informed us. "Apparently they have captured the Hachibi"

I was truthfully amazed by the comment. I knew that Sasuke was strong, but to overpower Killer Bee, the Raikage's brother, was beyond any of my expectations.

"Let's go!" – Madara ordered –

We left the base and ran into the forest after Madara. I knew we were going to 'The Cave', the one that had a big statue with nine eyes. That was where they sealed the Tailed Beasts. Itachi had told me about it, but I didn't know the exact location. Apparently it was right outside of Amegakure. Kisame and Zetsu entered without a second thought. I, on the other hand, lingered at the entrance for a couple of seconds.

Before I could go inside, the former Mizukage grabbed my shoulder.

"I still don't trust you."

"I assure you Madara that everything I do is in your best interest." – That was not a lie…unfortunately… -

"You will need this." – He said handing me an Akatsuki ring. The kanji said 朱 (Vermilion) "It goes on…"

"My right ring finger…I know…it was Itachi's ring" – I said trying to sound as heartbroken as possible. It was the ring I had pulled off his finger with my teeth. The memory almost made me smirk…almost. I thanked God that I had the flair to switch the ring and not just make a copy of it, and put it on my finger. Surprisingly it fit. Either Itachi had really feminine fingers or the ring had a jutsu on it to switch sizes depending on its owner.

With that in mind and a very somber expression on my face, I entered the cave. The statue was humongous, six eyes were opened and its hands were in a position that almost looked like a lotus flower. I wasted no time in assuming my position on the right ring finger of the statue, face to face with Kisame, who was standing on the left ring finger, looking a bit perplexed at me. Looking at the ring that Itachi used to were once, I noticed that my fingernails have been painted black, I tried to chip one, but to no avail. Then I heard a chuckle.

"That's the same thing Itachi tried to do when he first put the ring on." – Kisame said smirking at me, but his eyes betrayed him, they were sad with the los of his partner.

"You know…" – I said trying to lighten the mood – "you could make a fortune selling these to girls". At that we both started laughing.

Our little fit was interrupted by the sound of footsteps entering the cave. It was Sasuke and his teem. They were all badly injured, but alive none the less. They would all live.

The Hachibi was placed on the floor and all the Akatsuki members assumed their positions on the statue's fingers. Madara was on the left thumb and Zetsu on the right little finger. Teem Taka just stood there watching.

"All you need to do is concentrate your chakra through the statue. It will do the rest." – Madara instructed me – "This will take about four to five days since there are so few of us left"

"Great!" – I sated sarcastically, earning a dirty look from Madara –

We all made the hand seals and started the process of sealing the Bijou. I entered in a semi-meditative state and kept concentrating on the task at hand. While I was semi-mediating, my thoughts drifted to Itachi again.

* * *

**I was angry. Pure and simple anger coursed through my six year old veins.**

"**You are not to see him anymore. Fugaku-sama said you are taking up to much of his time with your nonsense and he needs to train." – My father said to me with a calm demeanor, even though I knew that he was itching to hit me for my last outburst.**

"**He needs friend too." – I said a bit calmer, forcing my anger deeper inside so my Jagan would not give me any surprises.**

"**You will be able to see him at school. That should be enough. Now go to your room!" – He ordered me – **

**As I climbed the stairs I felt tears welding up in my eyes, so I started running. I entered my room and shut the door behind me, sliding down on it to a crouched position with my head between my knees and began to cry my heart out.**

**How dare they forbid me to see Itachi? Who were they to tell me it was for his own good? How could his parents not see that he had no other friends besides me and his cousin Shisui? **

**I cried for some time until my fit subsided and I gathered enough energy and will power to glance at the clock by my nightstand: 2:30 AM. I had been crying for almost two hours. My parents should be asleep by now, and so should 'he'. I crawled onto my bed and closed my eyes. I was tired but I couldn't sleep, so a grabbed a book from the bookshelf in the corner of the room. It was a fairytale book; one where the prince recues the princess and they live happily ever after. I was still a child but I was far from immature at my frail six years of life. I knew there were no princes on white horses that will come and ride with me into the sunset, I knew that there was no 'happily ever after' but I liked to fantasize about it. **

**I took the book and seated myself next to the window where I had my mother get a sort of a very small futon so I could read at natural light better. Unbeknownst o her, I actually asked for it so I could see Itachi better. Our rooms were facing each other and we could see inside each other's rooms from our windows. Book in hand, I seated myself on the futon, and started reading in the moonlight. Thank God there was a full mood with no clouds tonight.**

**After reading the first page, I glanced up to Itachi's window, and what I saw stunned me. He was supposed to be asleep but here he was, wide awake, looking directly at me.**

**I put my book down. Now…how to communicate with him, so our parents don't hear? Then it hit me. Signs. The teacher at the academy taught them to us in case we would need to use them in a mission to communicate with each other without making a sound.**

'_**What are you doing up so late?**_**'**

'_**I couldn't sleep**_**' - He gestured – '**_**They told me I couldn't see you anymore**_**'**

'_**I know…my parents told me that too**_**'**

'_**So what do we do?**_**' – He asked me with his sweet innocent face – **

'_**First of all we get out of here so we can talk properly**_**' – I told him – **

**We were both in our pajamas and we had no shoes, but that didn't matter. We managed to slip out unnoticed by our parents, and we silently made our way into Shi no Mori, in our secret place. **

**The second we arrived all I could do was burry my face into his small chest and start crying. He held me and placed his chin on the top of my head as if protecting me.**

"**If you leave me…I'll die" – I said softly muffled by his shirt.**

"**Don't say things like that! You know I'll always be there for you."**

"**I don't want you to be **_**there**_** for me when I need help or when I'm lost or anything like that. I don't want to burden you with more responsibility. I only need you to be **_**there.**_** To be **_**here**_** with me. 'Couse if you stop being my friend Itachi, I'm gonna die of a bad heart."**

**Those were not the words that should escape a six year old child's mouth, but there they were, clear as crystalline water streaming down a mountain path.**

"**I will not stop being your friend. I could not even if I wanted to…it's impossible for me to leave you" – he shyly told me and placed a soft kiss onto my forehead.**

**The rest of the time we spent there was filled with promises to see each other again as soon as we could. **

**It was nearing dawn. We arrived at our houses and slipped into our beds. Thankfully our parents never found out about this particular encounter, which was the first of many to come.**

* * *

Not even eight hours into our sealing session and the body of the Hachibi turned into a severed octopus tentacle. We were stunned. Not only had Taka failed to apprehend the Jinchiurinki, but they also, though unwillingly, made us work for the past eight hours for nothing.

"Shinjirarenai![I can't believe this]" – I shouted jumping down from the statue – "This is pathetic. You four are actually completely and undisputedly incompetent!"

"Jessie! Calm down" – Madara ordered me, but I decided to pretend I was so angry I couldn't hear him. – "You say you can do this, you come back beaten half to death, and you are still so arrogant as to bring back a TENTACLE?" – I was screaming at Sasuke –

"JESSIE! CALM DOWN!" – Madara yelled at me grabbing my shoulder –

"I will NOT calm down!" – I told him shrugging his hand off – "Can't you see they can't even do a single task correctly? ITACHI WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE A MISTAKE LIKE THAT!"

At my words I could see Sasuke stiffen. He was now beyond angry. In a flash he was above me pinning me to the floor, straddling my waist and chocking the life out of me. He didn't say a word he just stared at me with anger and hurt and the will for me to die for comparing him to his "dead" brother. My vision started getting blurry. I would not fight back…this was Sasuke after all, both Itachi and I loved him more then our own lives.

In a fraction of a second he was off me. Before I could comprehend what had happened, Kisame was taking me into his arms, trying to calm my newly found breath, into a steady rhythm.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" – Obviously Madara was beyond pissed. Actually pissed was a mild way of putting it. When my blurred vision returned to normal I could see that he had his Mangekyo activated and was ready and willing to tear each of our heads clean off. – "Kisame! Take Jessie to her room and stay with her so she doesn't do anything stupid again! And YOU!" – He said looking at me – "if you have another outburst like that again I will give you a slow torturous death! Is that understood?"

"Yes sir…" I said weekly from Kisame's arms.

As we left I could still hear him shouting at team Taka; something about them going to lick their wounds and that I was right about them being week.

* * *

**Thank you for reading**

**TBC**


	8. Kisame

**This is ch 8 of my story. this is my first smut EVER so pls tell me what you think about it.**

**P.S. I will not be uploading for a little while couse i have like 10 exams and a collage degree to take...soooo...wish me luck.**

**As a side note, for Kisame's description, I'm going on the Lily drawings…'couse I can't get off any way else :P**

**If you are curious, just Google Kisame or Itachi Lily or something like that. You will definitely find some pics with them.  
**

* * *

Kisame slowly walked up the stairs with me in his arms, towards my bedroom. He opened the door with an uncharacteristically graceful move of his leg, and closed it behind him with a similar movement. He walked toward the bed, setting me gently on top of it.

"Princess…I hope that getting yourself killed isn't part of your plan." – He asked me –

The full moon shone through the window, lighting half of his face. His usually rough demeanor was now laid aside and his expression showed potent traces of pure concern. In spite of his blue skin and shark like appearance, in this very moment, he looked completely human. He was tall one meter and ninety five centimeters in height. His build was muscular but not exaggerated. In other words, he had a beautiful body. His personality was great to say the least…he could always make me laugh, even in the strangest of situations, he was always there for me whenever I needed him. So why was I not in love with him in stead of Itachi? I answered that myself…no one could replace Itachi. He had been my life since I was two years old. But why was I staring at Kisame like an idiot right now?

"Princess?"- He asked worried – "Are you ok?"

"What happened? Who pulled Sasuke off me?"

"I hit him with Samehada" – he said taking the large sword from his back and leaning it against the wall. – "I guess I'll get a good scowl form Madara-sama in the morning"

"Is he alright?" – I asked –

"Who, Sasuke?...He's just fine…I just drained a bit more of his chakra"

A moment of silence passed between us, in which we stared into each other's eyes.

"Thank you" – I finally said breaking the awkward moment –

"No problem Princess…" - he said smiling, although there was no tint of the teasing tone he usually had with me –

He was sitting on the side of the bed looking at my sprawled form on top of it. He seamed to take in the site, trying to memorize it.

"Kisame…" – I started – "Why _did _you kill the Daimyo?"

Silence.

"I figure it was because of a girl…but I could be wrong…" – I continued prying –

"You're not wrong…It was the Daimyo's daughter. Yuuki was her name"

"'Was'?"

"She died. That bastard killed his own daughter."

"Why?"

"I was young…well…younger than I am now…I was still part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Even though we were not allowed to talk, I used to watch her as she walked through the gardens every day. She was engaged to this rich nobleman's son… tall, blond, blue eyed, rich…mannered…everything a girl like her could want. We took turns in grading her chambers at night…Daimyo's orders. One night, when it was my turn to keep watch, she asked me if she could go downstairs to get a glass of water. She managed to persuade me into not coming with her. She then went to her fiancé's chambers in hope that she could spend some time with him before the wedding. Unfortunately, he was sharing his bed with another woman. She was devastated. She came crying back to her chambers. I was there. I didn't know what had happened. She just stood there crying in my arms. When she lifted her face to me…her expression was completely unreadable…" – he trailed off -

"So what happened? Did you kiss her?"

"I didn't have time. All the commotion attracted the other guards and woke up the Daimyo. They came rushing and of course they found me holding the girl. They assumed I had done something to her. She, of course explained exactly what had happened…big mistake…"

"Why?"

"Her father called her a whore…told her that what she did was disgraceful and disgusting, and before I had a chance to react he plugged his katana through her heart saying that she is better off dead than living in shame for the rest of her life…That's when I snapped. I killed all of them…the guards the Daimyo and that fucktart of a fiancé of hers…she died in my arms right before I fled Kirigakure"

The silence fell upon us again. It was heavy and a bit awkward. We kept staring at each other. My chest felt heavy, and my heart pumped like mad. Why was I feeling like this?

"Guess you're the only person that knows about this except for me now…" – he said as he stretched his hand and caressed my neck – "They're showing…"

"What?" – I asked not understanding what he meant –

"The bruises…they're starting to show…"

"Oh…"

He let his hand linger over my neck, as a soft greenish glow started to show itself from his hand. It felt soothing. He was heeling me…

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Hehe…" – he chuckled – "There are a lot of things you don't know about me little girl"

"True…but I'm working on it…thanks for helping…" – I said smiling sweetly at him –

He moved to get better access to my neck and accidentally pressed my thigh where Madara had gripped me earlier that day. It hurt and so I flinched.

"Something wrong?" – He asked me –

"Sparing with Madara…he gripped my thighs so hard I thought the muscle was gonna tear off"

He had finished heeling my neck, and moved his hand to my thigh.

"Where?" – He asked apparently I needed to show him where the Uchiha hurt me.

"On both my thighs right there…" – I showed him the exact spots through the fabric of my pants. –

I was still wearing the Akatsuki cloak, but it was completely opened as I was sprawled on the bed. Underneath I was wearing a simple black tank top and loose trousers.

"Princess. I may be an Akatsuki but I'm not a medic…there are limits to what I can do…I can't heel through material."

I weighed my options. I concluded.

"Ok…" – I said -

He arched his brow at me, clearly not understanding what I had meant.

"They really hurt you know…" – I continued, referring to the bruises -

He widened his eyes at me. His expression was priceless. He swallowed hard and moved his hand to the hem of my pants, his eyes not leaving mine for a second. He paused his hands right above the clasp, as if asking for permission. I smiled. That was all he needed. He slowly undid the clasp and pulled down the fly. I lifted my hips so he could slide the pants off my legs, the tips of his fingers caressing my skin in the process. I was now only wearing a pair of black girl-boxers (not the same ones as the night before if you were wondering) and a simple black tank top. The lack of pants exposed a hand shaped dark bruise on each of my thighs. Kisame looked at them and frowned.

"Asshole…" – he said referring to Madara. –

"Hey…I'm not a precious little flower…"

"He still shouldn't have done _this_"

He moved to a more comfortable position, in which he was straddling my knees and he could use his hands to heel both my bruises simultaneously. Of course that particular position made me blush and made my heart bear mush faster than it was supposed to. He placed his hands on both my thighs, his fingers ghosting over the abused flesh. His hands started glowing green again and shooting warmth replaced the pain I felt in the bruised muscle. A sigh of relief escaped my lips…it sounded almost like a moan. Kisame shifted uncomfortably, but continued his activity none the less. In less then ten minutes my bruises were gone and all that was left was creamy pale skin. The missing-nin's hands stopped glowing but were not removed from my person. In staid they ghosted upwards to my waist. He was now completely above me, our faces inches from each other. I moved my hand to the back of his neck, and then slowly inched upward until I felt the knot of his scratched hitai-ate, which I slowly undid, letting it fall from his forehead and setting it aside on the nightstand. He cupped my cheek and slowly inched toward me. The movement was like in slow motion. I felt his lips brush mine…not a real kiss, but more of a caress of our open lips. Then again, but this time it turned into a chaste kiss. He moved his other hand that was not on my face, slowly to my abdomen, and started lifting the fabric found there. I moaned and he deepened the kiss, this time using his tongue to slowly caress my own. We broke apart for a second not knowing what to say…

"Kisame…we can't…go all the way…"

"That's ok…I understand…" – he said staring to trail gentle kisses on my once bruised neck.

Part of me thought that after what I said, he would leave me alone and empty on the bed. I was thankful I was wrong. And frankly that's all I needed to hear. It we weren't going to have _sex_ than I would not exactly betray Itachi. With that in mind, and the feel of his lips on my skin, I reached for his shirt, which was currently getting in the way of my objective…his skin. In a swift movement I removed the offending garment. I gently placed my palms over his chest running them slowly down to his waist and up again, touching his nipples in the process. At that he hissed, so I glided my hands over the sensitive nubs again, flicking them with my thumbs. As I did that, I lifted my eyes to see his face. His eyes were closed, feeling the sensations I was causing wholeheartedly. He moaned as I flicked them again.

"Oh God Princess…what are you doing to me?" – He said huskily as he opened his eyes to look at me. –

I took a moment to actually look at his eyes then. His black sclera framed the most wonderful of golden iris. It almost looked like a panther eye it you disregarded the whole shark-aspect.

I didn't know how to respond to his question so I glided my hands back to his waist and pulled him harder between my legs, pressing his arousal to my core. We both moaned at that. Regrouping slightly, he managed to return to the task of taking my tank top off, next came the bra. He slowly unclasped it and as his hands came back to take it off he gently caressed my arms. The two black articles of clothing were thrown onto the floor next to Kisame's shirt, where they lay forgotten.

He flexed his lean body downwards so he could take one of my nipples in his mouth. The sensation was exhilarating and seeing his muscles flex under that unexpectedly soft skin of his, added to the feeling. His mouth was latched to my right breast, his tongue toying with my hardened nipple, as the left hand caressed the other. His right hand was now slowly but surely moving south. Oh God… he was gonna…OH YES! His hand slipped inside my boxers, and started caressing my folds.

"Oh fuck…" – he whispered huskily in my ear – "You're so wet Princess"

And he was right…I was wetter than I could ever remember… but it would be understandable with all the sensations he was causing…it was his entire damned fault.

"Mmmm…oh God!" – I only moaned, not being able to form coherent words because of those fingers, those wonderful fingers that were now playing with my very sensitive bundle of nerves. I felt too much on the receiving end…I felt I had to do something as well, so I reached for the budge in his pants. I was extremely irritated with the fact that he still had clothes on, but I was in no condition to remove them. As soon as he felt me reach for his erection, he grabbed my wondering hand and held it tightly in place, not letting me go further.

"Why?" – was all I managed to moan out since those delicious fingers were slightly pushing at my entrance, while his thumb still rubbed my clit.

"First of all, why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?" he asked into my ear. I could hear him smirk at his own words.

"You didn't….oh…oh god ….ask…"

"Second…can I put a finger in without breaking you?"

"Yes!...oh god… yes…please…Kisame!"

With that, he completely removed his hand from my shorts, only to have them pulled down, so now I was completely exposed to my partner's wondering eyes.

"Pants…" – I managed to say catching my breath.

He gladly complied and removed them, lying beside me in only his grey boxers. The hand that was once inside my boxers was now pressed to my lips. He was smirking. I played along grinning to him myself, as I opened my mouth slowly and began licking my essence of his fingers.

"Oh fuck Jessie…" – he looked at me with half lidded eyes "I was teasing, I didn't think you were gonna do that…don't virgins find that grows?" – But he obviously liked it…

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me…" – I quoted his earlier line.

At that he smirked and came down to kiss me again, pushing his tongue in my mouth a bit more passionately than he did before, like he wanted to taste on my tongue, what was left from his fingers.

The same hand, that moments ago was being licked by my tongue, was going south again, and this time he wasted no time in experimentally pushing against my core. A few seconds passed and he found the right angle and slipped his middle finger inside of me.

My back arched off the bed. Being tall meant he had long fingers, which would mean he could reach deeper than I ever could. He started slowly thrusting his finger in and out of me, his thumb caressing the nerve bundle again. It was pure bliss, but this time I could do something as well. My right hand reached for his clothed arousal again, and this time, he didn't stop me. I started caressing him through the fabric of his boxers and he moaned slightly. It wasn't enough. I slipped my hand inside and took his aching shaft into my hand. I slowly started to move my hand up and down on it matching the rhythm he had set with his finger, paying extra attention to the weeping head. He was oozing precum, and that made me feel even more aroused. Slowly but surely our rhythm alerted its tempo…

"Jesse…oh shit…stop."

I did that as soon as he told me to, thinking I had hurt him in some way.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No Princess. Calm down." – He said amused by my inexperience – "Just wanted to do something before you made me cum".

Having said that, he settled himself between my legs again, and started trailing soft butterfly kisses down my neck, breasts, abdomen…OH MY GOD! He wasn't….he dipped his tongue into my navel before going lower…HE WAS?...and then I felt him, his lips were THERE…

"Oh God Kisame!...OH fuck… OH please…HARDER!"

I could feel him smirk against my core as he complied and thrust his tongue inside of me. I could feel his sharp teeth grazing softly at my clit. I glanced at the missing-nin between my legs. Kisame Hoshigaki former member of the Sven Swordsmen current member of the infamous organization Akatsuki was currently giving me the best blow job of my entire life. Something so dangerous like that in a place so sensitive…it sent thrills up my spine…it excited me even more. His head between my legs, my left thigh on his shoulder and the right foot was at an open angle so he would have better access to…whatever miracle he was doing, but he was doing it, couse in the next moment I was throwing my head back in pleasure, as I had reached my peak, screaming his name.

As I lay there, in my post orgasmic haze, I heard a slight rustle of fabric hitting the ground. I glanced in Kisame's direction, and the sight made me wet all over again. He was on his knees before me on the large bed, slowly and firmly stroking his own cock. His rock hard abs were tensed and he was leaning on his left hand for support. His eyes were closed and his breath coming in pants. It was a sight to behold, but no matter how much I just wanted to sit there and stare at him pleasuring himself, after what he hade done to me, I had to return a favor.

"What are you doing?" – I asked him in a sexy tone –

"That's…Ah…ok Princess…Hmm…I can finish this myself…Ah…" – he told me still keeping his eyes closed –

"I can see that…but…as much as I want to watch you get off…I'd rather we do it some other time"

At that, his eyes snapped open looking at me. I got to my knees and sexily arched my back, then crawled to him. I slowly took him by the shoulders, and placed him in the spot on the bed where I was sitting a moment ago. I grabbed another pillow and put it behind him, so he would be angled in a way so he could see what I was doing.

"Jessie, there's really no need to…OH fuck!" – He was silenced by my hand gripping his shaft tightly.

I looked into his eyes, and started to slowly go down on him, placing small kisses here and there until I reached his cock, where I licked experimentally at the head. He moaned and closed his eyes.

"Kisame…look at me"

"I can't…I'll cum"

"I think that was the whole point…" - I teased him, and he frowned – "Fine. Is this better?" – I asked as I put my thumb across the base of his shaft, which was currently laying flat on his hard belly, and pressing slightly. The frown disappeared and he finally opened his eyes to look at me.

"You really are a perverted little girl…did you know that?" – He asked grinning madly ay me –

"Nope…but what would I do without you to tell me?" – I smirked, and gave the underside of his shaft a long lick from my finger to the head, where I could finally taste the saltiness of his precum.

"Just one thing"- I started – "this is the first time I'm doing anything remotely close to sex so…I'm going to have to ask you not to thrust you hips up too hard and please don't be disappointed if I…excuse the pun…suck at it"

We both burst into a fit of laughter at my words. When we calmed down he looked at me reassuringly.

"Trust me princess…I doubt you could ever _suck _at anything"

He then leaned in to kiss me. It was passionate and deep, and I could still taste myself on his tongue, and it felt…so erotic.

With that being said, I griped the base of his cock and gave the head a small kiss before taking him in my mouth. I alternated between sucking by hollowing my cheeks, and swirling my tongue around his head, all the time being extra careful not to scratch him with my teeth. His hand was in my long curly hair and I could sense that he was trying really hard not to thrust upward or shove me down onto him.

"Oh My God Jessie. How can you say….Ah…..that you've never…Oh ….done his before?….Fuck!"

He was already riled up because of everything we did, and it didn't take him long to finish. Before I knew it he was scramming my name, and his cum filled my mouth. I swallowed every last drop.

He guided me up next to him, kissing me again, tasting _himself _on_ me_. Arranging the pillows so we could assume a sleeping position, he took me into his arms.

We were under the covers naked, face to face. He was smiling sadly at me.

"What is it?" – I asked concerned –

"You love him don't you?"

"Who do you mean?"

"Itachi…" – he almost whispered –

I almost freaked then and there. He knew? He couldn't know...could he?

"Why are you speaking of him in the present tense?" – I was beginning to wonder how much Kisame actually knew and how much he was supposed to know –

"Come on Princess. I know you do, and I know you wouldn't let anything happen to him. I said I'm with you on this one…we're both in the same boat."

"Yes…" – I answered weekly despite myself and all my common sense telling me different–

"'Yes' he's alive or 'Yes' you love him?"

"Both…" Crap! how the hell did he make me do that?

As I answered, I felt him stiffen a bit beside me, but he relaxed the next second.

"Well…I gave you my secret to hold" – he said referring to the story about Yuuki – "And now I have one of yours, for me to hold"

Any other person would take this as a reference to blackmail, but I knew him better. He could hide his past but not himself. I knew that was his twisted way of saying 'I trust you'. For that I placed a soft kiss in his lips and fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**

**TBC**


	9. Aftermath and Sasuke's Being a Bitch

**Finally I finished my exams and now all of you can indulge yourselves again in my wonderful story (note the modesty). This chapter is meant to link up a couple of ideas I have planed, and now u get to see and read a bit of my version of Sasuke (hope he isn't too OOC) **

**ENJOY AND REVIEW!**

* * *

The sun rose into my window disturbing me from my peaceful slumber. I groaned not wanting to wake up, but in my sleepy haze I remembered the events that had transpired the day before. I had gotten to impress Madara with my style of fighting, Itachi's Akatsuki ring now lay on my finger, and Kisame…OH SHIT KISAME! …what have I done? I snapped my eyes open, the idea of the consequences of my actions last night hit me full blast. What have I done?...How much of a rhetorical question could that be? I knew very well what I had done, no matter how much I wanted to convince myself last night that I didn't, the truth was as obvious as Kisame's blue skin…I had betrayed Itachi.

Standing up, I noticed that Kisame had already left my room. I was sincerely thankful for that. I really didn't want to make him feel bad with my morning existential crisis. I sat on the side of the bed, resting my head between my hands and putting my elbows on my knees. Shit! I can't believe I did that? What was I thinking? Actually, I know what I was thinking…it was my fucked up way of thanking him for everything he did. But let's face it, who in Akatsuki isn't fucked up?

I had to stop my internal musings, I had to trust Kisame, because I had much bigger fish to fry. I had a plan and I had to make it work in order to save Sasuke, save Madara, save the world and be back in Itachi's sweet warm arms by the end of the month.

With that in mind, I stood up and got dressed, determined to face Madara.

Descending the flight of steps that lead to the grand hall we usually spent our time, I heard Madara talking to someone. Judging by the voices, I believed it was Karin (the read head that was with teem Taka, not my Karin). Once I reached the end of the stairs, I could even see them. All of team Taka was gathered up in the main hall and Madara was instructing them on their next mission.

"I decided to give Taka another chance." – he said – "you and Jessica will go apprehend the six tails." – he motion towards me. He had known I was there, even with his back turned towards me. There were no reflective object in the room, and I had been concealing my chakra. I had to give him credit for sensing me, even if it was a little scary.

"Why do we have to go with her?" – the red-head asked with much displeasure. It was sickening to see that she didn't like because of the simple fact that Sasuke didn't. She was acting just like a love sick puppy. It reminded me of all the girls that fawned over Itachi all those years ago.

"Because she will ensure that you do not come back empty handed this time" – Madara responded sternly. – "Jessica! You will get ready to leave immediately!" – he commanded turning towards me. He was wearing the orange mask again. He seamed to do that every time Sasuke was around. I wondered if it had something to do with the young Uchiha's new Mangekyo…

"Hai! Madara-sama"- I said looking directly at him, not wavering under the remembrance of what had happened in the sealing hall the other night.

"Do you have a problem with me Red?" – I asked Taka-Karin. It was hard for me to call her by her real name because it felt wrong for me to use the same name as my friend's. Though, I noticed that all of Taka was healed and ready for battle. I had to give her a little credit for her skills and knowledge of the medical art.

At my short statement she just huffed and turned smugly to the side.

"We leave in two hours!" – Sasuke stated not even looking in my direction. I had to admit…it kind of hurt, but I was going to fix that in a very short while.

In two hours I had taken a shower, and was more than ready to take on the challenge of the six tails Jinchiurinki. His name is Utakata and we had to go all the way to Mizugakure to get him. I felt truly sorry for the poor boy but there was nothing I could do. I had to chose between someone I had never met and the fate of the whole world. If we would not deliver the Jinchiurinki, Madara would definitely suspect something and all my plans would go down the gutter. I had no choice. When I descended, Taka was waiting for me at the entrance doors ready to leave.

* * *

We were running through the trees. Sasuke was still glaring at me from the corner of his eye, but it didn't matter, I knew what I had to do.

We were running quite high through the treetops and we had gotten quite close to Mizugakure. It had only taken us a day and a half to go this far. Seemingly Taka's speed was a bit impressive. Red, was on our left while Juugo and Suigetsu were on our right effectively flanking us as if to prevent another fight, but they didn't actually have the courage to really stand between us.

My mind was made up I knew what I had to do. And with that, I lunged toward Sasuke hitting his back against a nearby tree. I had my Mangekyo activated and in a fraction of a second before his back hit the solid bark of the tree, noticing he was looking wide eyed at me, I whispered…

"Tsukyomi"

A read and black world, at my choosing, surrounded both of us. Now we had all the time we needed to talk.

Sasuke was standing face to face with me, about two meters away. He looked confused. His Mangekyo Sharingan was activated but he didn't seem to be fighting the genjutsu I had placed him under.

"Why am I not bound?" – he calmly asked after recuperating from the initial shock that I had finally managed to 'land a hit' on him.

"I mean you no harm" – I answered. –

He, upon hearing my statement, widened his eyes a bit.

"You must be kidding…"

"I am not kidding Sasuke. You must listen to me if we are ever going to get out of this alive."

"Do you take me for a fool woman?" – he asked in an extremely pissed voice as he shot forward to attack me, only I changed into a swirling mass of glowing red butterflies and started circling around him. He tried to cut through them but to no avail. This was _my_ genjutsu after all –

"I know you can break out of Tsukyomi" – I said stroking his ego – "I have seen you do it in your fight with Itachi." – at that he seamed to stiffen slightly. Every time I mentioned his brother, he had that reaction.

"What do you mean 'seen'?" – he asked me –

"I dreamed it…your fight with him…I dreamed it, and I was there, I arrived just before you passed out"

"Woman! Is this your idea of fun?" – he was still speaking calmly and confidently to me, but I knew that inside he was seething. -

I could even feel him use the Sharingan to try to break out of my hold, but what he said infuriated me. Up until now I had been nice but it seems that 'nice' doesn't work with Sasuke Uchiha.

"DO YOU THINK THAT I WOULD BE JOKING SASUKE?" – I made my voice sound as if it was coming from all directions – "DO YOU THINK THAT I WOULD RISK TO LOSE SUCH A BIG PORTION OF MY CHAKRA BY USING TSUKYOMI JUST BEFORE A FIGHT WITH A JINCHIURINKI JUST TO ANNOY YOU? THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU AND YOU SHOULD DO WELL AND LISTEN TO YOUR ELDERS FROM TIME TO TIME INSTEAD OF BEING WRAPPED UP INSIDE YOUR SILLY LITTLE GAMES OF VENGEANCE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE STATE OF TENSING UP AT THE SOUND OF ITACHI'S NAME IN THE FIRST PLACE!" – I told him in a stern but high voice – "IF YOU WOULD HAVE STAYED IN KONOHA LIKE A SMART LITTLE BOY WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN THIS PREDICAMENT. BUT OF COURSE I WAS WRONG! YOU REALLY ARE JUST A CHILD!"

That got his attention. I stopped circling him and turned my body back to normal. Standing in front of him again, I started speaking in a kinder voice.

"Those eyes you have, they are the result of your love and pain for your brother's death…the embodiment of the pain of losing him, of killing him. But they only mean that the pain exists…but they cannot tell if the death exists for real."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You love him don't you? You are pained by his loss. But the pain is the cause of your Mangekyo not the death. The feelings you had after you found out Itachi's truth were the catalysts for your new power."

"Stop speaking in riddles woman and tell me why I'm here?" – he seemed furious, but he did not make another attempt at breaking my hold over him.

"Sasuke…I promise you that what I am about to tell you is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but before I start speaking again, I need to know that you are ready to hear what I have to say"

"I'm ready" – he said a bit too quickly. –

"Can you guarantee me no episodes?"

"What?"

"No episodes…I mean, no going up and about looking for revenge again? I have worked on this too delicately for you to ruin it. I need you to play along with Madara for a while"

"Fine…" – he said taking in a deep breath – "I am ready"

"As I said, the obtaining of the Mangekyo Sharingan is caused by the feeling not the action, so what I actually want to say to you is that Itachi is alive and well"

At that, he was clearly shocked.

"But how? I saw the body…we brought it back with us after the fight"

"What you saw was a fake body. I told you that I was at the fight scene when you collapsed. You know that Zetsu was there don't you?"

"Yes, I had sensed him" – he carefully responded –

"Well, after you passed out, he left to report to Madara. He was gone for about a minute. In that time frame, I managed to switch Itachi's body with a fake one."

"But I thought he really died…" – Sasuke was actually taking this better than I had thought he would and I was grateful to the Gods for that –

"Long story short, we resuscitated him and now he's fine, alive and safe."

"And how exactly did you resuscitate him?" – he asked raising an elegant dark eyebrow –

"That's on a strictly 'need to know' basis…and you don't need to know just yet" – I said smiling sheepishly at him. –

I knew he was going to be upset with my answer but we didn't have more time.

"Woman! I told you I …"

"Sasuke please…" – I cut him off – "Believe me I'm not playing games. There is someone after yours and Madara's eyes. He is going to destroy everything we know if we don't stop him."

"What are you talking about? Who is trying to steal my eyes?" – he was still acting composed but he expressed his anger a bit more freely now –

"I don't know who he is but all that I know is that in two days from now, another girl will be joining Akatsuki. You must be weary of her. She will be sent to incapacitate Madara. We must still act as foes until the time will come to leave Akatsuki and see your brother again."

"And when will that be?" – he asked angrily –

"I will go to them and relate what I have learned and will learn. Then we will receive help from them on the night that the girl will attack Madara."

"You said 'them'"

"Yes…Itachi is with two friends of mine. Do not worry though, both of them can be trusted."

"Woman, if you are pulling my leg, I will personally see to it that you shall be beheaded. Do you understand that?"

"Yes Sasuke…I understand" – I said as I gave him a kind smile – "You don't remember me do you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean? Have I met you before?"

"A long time ago, when you were just a child…just a baby. I'm that girl…"

But I was cut off by my genjutsu abruptly ending. Juugo had taken the liberty of hitting me in the chest…hard…and throwing me into a nearby tree. The last thing a saw was Sasuke catching me before I fell the hundred meter drop from the treetops we were in.

* * *

Great! Now I had a ragging headache. Stupid me and my stupid plans of getting stupid Sasuke's stupid attention to my other stupid plans of saving the stupid world. OUCH! Stupid head…stupid pain!

"Good morning Sleeping beauty" – I heard his voice telling me, though it healed no traces of malice…did he not understand the meaning of pretending to _not_ be able to stand each other -

Stupid Sasuke.

"Ouch…" – I said looking around and noticing that we were alone –

"Where is the rest of your team?" – I said groggily –

"I sent them to trace down the Jinchiurinki. They were a bit reluctant to leave me here with you though I managed to convince them that we would not try to kill each other" – he said with a sly smirk –

"I can't believe how well you're taking all of this" – I said a bit bewildered. – "I was expecting hyperventilation, blades, Kirin, Chidori, choking and all that shit!"

He chuckled a bit at my rambling "I still don't fully believe you. But until I convince myself with my own eyes, I'm playing along with your little game. You do seem to be telling the truth…but one cannot be too careful…"

"I think that's the most you ever said to me in like…ever" – I told him laughing –

He smiled a little at that. He seamed much more relaxed with me…note to self: Sasuke _is_ prone to mood swings.

"Before, inside the genjutsu…" – he began – "You said I knew you…what did you mean?"

"How much do you remember up until you were three years old?" – I carefully asked him –

He curiously raised an eyebrow at me "I remember my father always comparing me to Itachi, I remember my mother soothing me when I was upset, I remember my brother always being there for me, playing with me…" – he trailed off, than, after a short pause he continued – "come to think about it, I remember this little girl that used to hang out with my brother, they were good friends, which I found strange because Aniki never took interest in any other girl but her…than she died or something because all I remember was a picture of her that Itachi kept on his desk. It was of her standing in the middle, he was behind her, holding her shoulders, and she was holding me as a very young baby."

"So what happened to her? Did she actually die?" – I asked him expectantly –

"I don't remember…I stopped seeing her around when I was about three…I can't even remember her name…" – he trailed off –

It was time to tell him the truth "Sasuke…I'm…"

But unfortunately I couldn't finish that important sentence because I was so rudely interrupted by the idiot shark-boy that was always chasing after Samehada.

"Yo! Can't believe you're not at each others throats by now."

I wanted to kill him…badly. I could rip his throat out, disembowel him, rip off his limbs and let him bleed to death…but before I could finish my a hundred and one ways of killing Suigetsu, Red took her chance to knock him upside the head screaming something about being rude to Sasuke.

"We found the boy" – she stated as a matter of fact –

I got up from where Sasuke had set me leaned against a massive tree trunk, and got ready to leave. Red had lead us through the forest, to a small clearing, where we could see a young man, dressed in a blue kimono tied with a gray obi. He was fairly tall, about one meter and seventy-five centimeters, his hair was black and cut short into a stylish emo mullet. As soon as he noticed us, he froze. I decided to play the "good Akatsuki member" and introduce us.

"Hello." – I sated smirking evilly – "We are Akatsuki, and you will be coming with us"

"Not a chance in Hell" – he replied sternly.

We didn't even get a chance to make our first move before we were assaulted by a wave of bubbles. The first bubble that hit a tree before any of the others managed to reach us, exploded…oh SHIT! Exploding BUBBLES? What the hell? What will they think of next exploding spit? We all managed to dodge most of them, but Juugo took a hit on his left shoulder, because of that, he started to loose his control over the cursed seal, and started to undergo a partial transformation. Sasuke saw that and wrapped a snake around him staring him down with his Sharingan, calming him in the process. Red was nowhere in sight, the sensor must have fled the wave of the first attack because she was definitely not battle equipped. Suigetsu on the other hand was having the time of his life swinging his oversized sword. The bubbles that were hitting him were doing absolutely no damage; he was just turning his body into water and regenerating, but, he wasn't doing any damage to Utakata either. My turn. Making the necessary hand seals, I shouted.

"Katon Gokakyuu no jutsu"

The blast seamed to hit him but after a second I saw him exit the grand fireball's flames inside a bubble kekai. God damn it. The boy decided to make it more complicated for us. Why must they _always _be this stubborn? They always insist on making Akatsuki chase them. In a flash I was above the kekai, and Sasuke, I noticed, had just appeared next to me. How perceiving of him…he had his sword drawn out and Chidori was already running through the blade. He thrust it through the thin lair of the chakra infused bubble and it instantly broke. That was my queue: I ran some wind chakra through my hand and held the palm open and stiff slashing it towards him like a blade. He dodged that two. When he landed on the ground, he crouched and readied himself for the next attack. He sent another wave of bubbles toward us, but this time we were ready. His jutsu was water based, and Sasuke and I, both had an affinity towards fire chakra. We were the worst possible opponents.

The battle raged on his attacks growing stronger. Juugo had passed out and Suigetsu, who had water based attacks had already finished most of his chakra reserves and could not fight anymore. All who were left were Sasuke and I to stand in front of Utakata. The Jinchiurinki was almost at his human limit, and we knew that if we did not end this soon we would be faced with a six tailed chakra monster. We hoped we could immobilize him with a combined lightning based attack but unfortunately that was not the bijoux's plan. Sensing it's host in danger, it sprung forth, breaking the seal that kept it locked up. Our small attack did nothing to the newly formed chakra beast.

Retreating slightly, Sasuke and I started to formulate a plan.

"Think we can use Amaterasu on him?" – I asked implying if he had enough chakra for an attack –

"'We?" - he asked perplexed –

"I'll explain later just keep you're mouth shut about this. Nobody else is to know except for us."

"Suigetsu!" - Sasuke shouted toward his teammate – "Find Karin and get Juugo out of here! NOW! We can handle this."

I watched as the white haired boy complied. In no time I could feel the three chakra signatures a safe distance from the battle field. Safe for them away from the fight and safe for me to use Jagan.

We both positioned ourselves in front of the monster. We made the hand seals and closed our eyes. Soon we were both crying blood from our left eyes and in unison we shouted "Amaterasu!", opening them. The beast was then engulfed in black flames and retreated inside his host again. We closed our eyes and ended the jutsu, turning the flames off, sucking them into another dimension.

"Truthfully, I never thought ending a jutsu would take more energy than starting one" – I said tiredly to him –

"First time?" – he asked me with a devious smirk –

"Why, Sasuke, if I didn't know you better I would say that was a joke" – I started laughing – "and to answer your question, Yes, that was my first time…and it did hurt"

He smirked and I laughed my tired head off while he went to pick up the barely alive Jinchiurinki.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**

**TBC**


	10. Sealing and Reminiscence

**Hello, it's ViviDarkAngel (surprised are u not?). I decided to post another chapter for u guys. I laughed my head off writing this. Hope you enjoy.**

**_Btw, what is written in bold italics is a flashback._**

**XD**

* * *

We managed to haul our barely moving bodies back to the base, where we were greeted by both Kisame and Madara at the entrance. Zetsu must have told them we were approaching. Upon seeing my tired form, Kisame rushed to hold me steady on my wobbly legs.

"Hey Princess…how you doing?" – he asked smirking –

"Hanging in there" – I joked –

"Had fun?" – he inquired playfully –

"You have _no_ idea…" – I said, and I heard him chuckle as he grabbed and held my smaller frame to his large body for support –

When we entered the base, team Taka left the Jinchiurinki on the floor in front of Madara and excused themselves to go to their chambers to clean up. Madara picked up the passed out boy and proceeded in hauling him towards the cave, to the sealing hall, which left Kisame and I alone again.

"Drink!" – I said simply. Not a commanding tone, more of a request, but a firm one none the less –

He lead me to the kitchen aria where he pored me a generous glass of sake. I plopped myself on a chair in a very unladylike manner, taking the glass in my hand and taking a strong hit of the potent liquor. The feel of it burning down my throat was exceptional.

"Where were you this morning? You missed my existential crisis" – I mocked –

"I woke up when I felt Madara's chakra by the door" – he said scratching the back of his head – "'Existential crisis'?" – he asked a bit startled – "Do you regret what happened?" – He seamed a bit put out by my choice of words –

I pondered the answer. I wasn't going to lie to him "No. I don't regret anything that happened. We're both adults and we conceded to what we did, and I can't say I didn't enjoy it" – I smirked playfully – "But, I do feel that I had betrayed Itachi with this…that's why I was having the crisis"

"That I can understand…" – he replied thoughtfully – "I can't say that I'm too happy about it…but I _understand_" – he smiled sadly -

"You're one in a million Kisame…and whoever begs to differ will have their guts ripped out by yours truly "

I felt him send his humongous amount of chakra out to scan if there was anyone in the vicinity, and I saw him moving slowly towards me. He leaned in and whispered "This could very well be our last kiss…" I looked at him silently agreeing on what he said. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. From the chaste kiss it was supposed to be, it quickly turned into a more fevered one. I locked my hands around his neck as I stood up. He grabbed my ass and lifted me so I could encircle my legs around his waist and set me on the table, never detaching his lips from mine. We continued devouring each others mouths for a few more moments before we pulled apart.

"We should head for the cave. The sealing ceremony should begin shortly" – he whispered with eyes half lidded.

I gowned in frustration breaking the awkwardness of the situation.

On our way to the cave, I noticed that something was missing from Kisame's person.

"Where's Samehada?" – I asked. After the question, I noticed him smirk -

"You asked me where I was this morning…"

"Yes…" – I replied carefully –

"Fighting Killer Bee."

"You seem quite ok for fighting the Raikage's brother…" – he smirked confidently at me, baring his sharp teeth – "So…Samehada?" – I inquired again –

"With the Jinchiurinki"

"So we get to have inside intel on the Raikage and his brother, in the most subtle way possible" – I said catching on. Samehada was Kisame's sword and it would be no one else's –

"You truly catch on quick. I made it look like Samehada preferred Killer Bee's chakra to mine, so it switched sides. And now we have a sort of a spy relating info to me through our unique chakra link"

"Truly amazing…but one must wonder…does this little sharad lead to a good thing?"

"Only time can tell Princess…"

"So…Madara knows…" – I said remembering that Kisame said he was at my door this morning. –

"Yeah…guess we won't be seeing much of each other anymore…"

"For now." – I said knowingly –

"For now…" – He echoed –

* * *

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! ONE DAY? ONE DAY? **ONE**?" – I was livid –

I could not believe what I was hearing. He wanted to do the sealing in one day… Madara was officially insane. It was impossible. Even with team Taka's help it would still be only eight of us, and the sealing takes three days even with ten Akatsuki members. And Madara wanted it done by tomorrow evening.

"Madara…no offense…but…" – I started – "…I know you're like 'oh, I'm mister cool because I've lived for a hundred and twenty years and I still look like I'm thirty and I fought Shodaime and gave him the slip, and all the world thinks I'm dead, and above all that I'm an Uchiha and my name is Madara' and all that shit…but you know…we are still ordinary mortals 'your highness'…WE CAN'T DO THIS!" – he was calmly looking at me from behind his mask as I spoke -

We all had gathered in the sealing hall, including team Taka. I could see Sasuke tense up preparing for Madara to hit me or something. Kisame, I could see, had that 'grab-her-and-run-far-far-away' look on his face, but Madara had yet to make an attempt at striking at me. He just stood there, observing.

"I mean look, I'm at 20% chakra, Taka is tired as well, and I know what you're thinking now: 'Will she ever learn not to question me?' Fine! Maybe I don't learn! But excuse me if I don't want to die from chakra exhaustion! I mean like come on! Like seriously now, if you wanted me dead you could have said so in the first place!"

"Do I really look that old? Thirty? And here I was thinking I still looked twenty-four" – he calmly stated in an amused voice –

I had to admit…I totally got pwned by that line…sighing, I resigned myself, and climbed up the statue so as to be able to begin. This…was going to end badly…very badly…I just knew it…I thought I as heard Madara chuckle whilst climbing up as well to occupy his designated spot on the statue's finger.

Each of the members of team Taka had received an Akatsuki ring. Sasuke had Pein's, Red had Konan's, Suigetsu had Hidan's and finally Juugo had Kakuzu's. And so the sealing commenced. Detaching my mind from the place I was in at the moment, I started thinking of my past again. Funny how the sealing ceremony always drifted me back to Konoha.

* * *

**At five years old, I was, like Itachi, too mature for my age. And a bit too good at sensing enemy chakra. **

**It surged through me like an earthquake. I froze. Something enormous was coming our way. It wasn't good. I was alone in the house, both my parents being at work. I ran next door to Itachi's home to see if he felt it too. Mikoto was in the kitchen staring out the window with a worried expression.**

"**What's going on?" – I innocently asked her – **

"**Someone wants to attack Konoha dear…But don't worry, Sandaime and Yondaime will let nothing happen to us" – she said smiling reassuringly at me – **

**She was lying. I could tell she was worried and scared. I could never understand how people put their trust so completely in the Hokages…I mean, I understand that they are very powerful, but, they're still only human. They are not gods. They could one day die. They can have opponents that are stronger than them, and they can, unfortunately, be defeated.**

**I ran to the back porch where I found Itachi staring at the sky, holding baby Sasuke, a very out of place frown gracing his child facial features.**

"**You felt it too huh?" – I asked walking up beside him a placing my right hand on his shoulders and the other on the baby Sasuke bundle, who, was starting to seem quite agitated.**

"**Hn…" – he acknowledged monosyllabically – **

"**You have to leave here immediately" – I told him thinking of the baby – "You need to get Sasuke as far away from Konoha as you can."**

"**What's going on? Why are you telling Itachi to leave?" – Mikoto's voice came from behind us – **

"**Mikoto-sama. Sumana, demo…I really have a bad feeling about this. You should take Itachi and Sasuke and head for the other side of Hokage Mountain."**

"**Sasaki-chan, you needn't worr…" – she probably wanted to say that I should not worry for the sake of the village, for their sake but she was cut off by the sight of a gigantic white cloud of a Kuchiose Jutsu that appeared in the middle of Konoha. – **

**When the cloud dispersed, to our horror, we could see the Kyuubi standing menacingly inside our village, ready to attack. It sent a large blast toward the massive sculptures of Hokage Mountain, but it was stopped by Yondaime. The lone figure of Minato Namikaze stood on the sculpture of his own head defending us from the raging chakra beast.**

"**Onegai Mikoto-sama, take towards the back of the mountain. Take them with you." – I said motioning towards Itachi and Sasuke – "Take the detour path that goes around the mountain"**

**Mikoto finally understood what I was telling her and she took Sasuke from Itachi's arms. **

"**What will **_**you**_** do?" – Itachi asked me – "I can't leave you here."**

"**You are coming with us are you not?" – Mikoto asked me expectantly – **

"**Gomen nasai Mikoto-sama, Itachi, I can't come. I have to find my mom and dad. Please…" – the last 'please' was intended for Itachi, whose hand I squeezed pleadingly.**

"**We cannot leave you…" – she insisted – **

"**I **_**have**_** to go. I will be fine. Trust me."**

"**If you say so…but are you sure?"**

"**Yes!" – I said sternly, but as I wanted to leave –**

**Itachi was looking at me with a small worried frown. I leaned to him and kissed him on the forehead "I'll be right back to you, ok?" – I whispered – "It will be all right" – I said, gently pulling my hand from his, and leaving.**

**What I had told Mikoto and Itachi about me going to look for my parents was in fact one big lie. I knew for a fact that my mother was safe and my father even safer. What I actually wanted to do was take a closer look at who was attacking Konoha. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to realize that the Kyuubi would not attack a village for no apparent reason. There had to be someone behind this. I was only a child, I knew full well that there was nothing I could personally do about Konoha's predicament, but I also knew that even if the enemy saw me I would have more chances of survival than a full fledged shinobi simply because I would not be seen as a threat. Running on the roofs of the buildings, I could see something in a distance. I could sense two very powerful chakra signatures. Two strong shinobi were fighting. Sure enough in no time I could even see them. Minato and an orange masked man were fighting.**

"**Are you Uchiha Madara?" – Minato asked the man clad in black with the orange mask, as they paused in their fight. – "No. you can't be. He's dead" – he continued – "Who knows?…" – Was all the man replied – **

**They continued their battle, but unfortunately for me, at a strong clash of two particularly powerful jutsus, a very large bolder flew towards me. My reactions were… nonexistent. I couldn't believe this. I was going to die…crushed by a large bolder and it wasn't even my battle. I was watching someone else's battle…**

**Like in slow motion, I saw the bolder coming toward me, but in an instant I saw green…a lot of green…Oh My God I have never seen so much green spandex in my life…it was hurting my eyes. It was one of Konoha's jounins Mighto Guy I believe was his name. He had shattered the large rock with only his fist. Which was truly impressive…but….so much green…**

**I barely managed to finish that thought before I was picked up into the air. I spun my head around to take a look at my captor. Oh!...Just great!...Of all the people!...it had to be **_**the**_** Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha's White Fang.**

"**Thanks for saving me. Now let me go!" – I demanded – **

"**Now that's no way to speak to your hero" – He said playfully –**

"**Hero shmero! Let me go!"**

"**I can't do that" – His tone turned serious – "It's too dangerous out there for a child such as you"**

**I knew he was right, and I did conclude I had enough information to satisfy my curiosity. I just had one tintzi intzi little problem: HE WOULDN'T PUT ME DOWN! This was completely beneath me. **_**I **_**Jessica Kristina Sasaki, of the Sasaki house was being carried off the battle field like a pestering child…well I was a child but that was not the problem…not that I could of fought myself, but that was still beside the point…**_**I **_**was NOT supposed to be CARRIED off the battlefield. I was part of the only family that was given clearance to work directly with the Uchihas at the Konoha Military Police. I was supposed to be strong brave and proud! And… Oh God, here he comes again…**

"**Are you all right little lady?" – Mighto Guy asked as he came up running beside Kakashi – **

**I will not even dignify that question with an answer…who did he think he is? And look at him…Oh God, big mistake. Note to self: NEVER look at that much green spandex EVER again.**

"**Little lady?" – God he was persistent. Fine! I would answer – **

"**I'm just dandy thank you!" – I said not turning toward him again – "And please get out of my line of vision before you traumatize me for the rest of my life!"**

**He seamed quite hurt for a second there but, by the sound of his voice when he told Kakashi that he would go west to check for wounded, he seamed to have bounced right back.**

"**My, my…such harsh words for a child your age" – Kakashi started – "And quite eloquent too"**

"**I've been told" – I said smugly – **

"**Who are you little girl?"**

"**That is not important. Who is Yondaime fighting?"**

"**I don't know. He just appeared out of nowhere along with that thing" – he said motioning to the Kyuubi which was, thankfully, a safe distance from us – **

"**Could he be Madara Uchiha?"**

"**Where did you hear that?" – He asked startled – **

"**Minato asked him if he was Madara Uchiha and that man answered 'who knows'. I believe that Yondaime was right"**

"**Are you not Sasaki's daughter? Jessie?" – Damn! I had been found out – **

"**What's it to you?" – I deflected – **

"**Well take care of yourself…you parents must be worried about you."**

"**You don't know my father…can we please keep the knowledge of my presence here a secret? Or else my father…" – My father would beat the crap out of me that's what he'd do, but I didn't voice that – **

**He quirked his single visible silver eyebrow at me. He definitely understood what I didn't say. He kneeled in front of me as to be able to be face to face when we spoke.**

"**Ok. This will be our little secret. Now go toward the back of Hokage Mountain and stop worrying over impossible feats. Madara is dead. And nothing can change that. Shodaime defeated him at the Valley of the End and that was that."**

"**You're wrong! That masked man is Madara…I just feel it" – I told him before I dashed on the path. I was supposed to catch up with Itachi soon. – **

* * *

GOD DAMN IT! I didn't even have enough chakra to mediate. The lack of it was stressing my body out too much to be able to relax. The only good thing would be that there was very little left of the sealing process.

Oh for fucks sake! What the hell did I just think? 'The only _good_ thing' was it? That was too wrong on so many levels. Firstly, we should not have been doing the sealing in the first place, but let's place that beside the point. The sealing should have been done more slowly so as we would be able to recuperate chakra as we used it, we should have been rested before we began. But nooooo, Madara had to do the 'I'm the boss and you _have_ to do what I say or you die' routine and throw in the sly smooth criminal act on us! God damn slave driver! That should be illegal…come to think about it, it might actually be illegal…maybe I should report him….Aaaaa! What the fuck am I thinking? Who should I report him _to_? The evil rogue ninja Public Safety? And even if that existed he was officially dead…maybe I could check with Population Evidence? Or the Morgue? Or a Mortuary? Or maybe the Cemetery Maintenance? Aaaaa! I'm obviously too tired to form coherent thoughts right now…or maybe the thoughts _are_ coherent but I'm just too tired to understand them? Damn I had reached the level where my own mind has become an enigma to me. Oh, but no matter. We're finally finished. And on time none the less.

Happily, I descended the sealing statue but the moment my feet hit the ground… I blacked out.

When I regained consciousness, I felt I was lying on a soft bed. I didn't open my eyes for fear to see who stood next to me. But it was too late. I had already identified his distinct chakra signature.

"You have a nasty bad habit you know?" – Madara asked me a slight bit amused –

"I know. I'll quit smoking…eventually" – My answer was given in a very groggy tired voice –

"That's not what I'm talking about. Fine…three bad habits actually"

"Oh please…take pity on this lowly mortal and enlighten me"

"That's exactly what I mean. Firstly, your sarcasm _will_ get you killed one day."

"Is that a threat?" – I asked in a more serious tone –

"Not really. Secondly, you smoke, and that _too_ will kill you one day. And thirdly, and most importantly you have a nasty habit of using your chakra until the last drop, and passing out in other men's arms. That's quite dangerous you know…" – He said, obviously the line having a sexual connotation to it. –

"I mean…truthfully I do not understand you. You have as much chakra as Kisame and that means _something_. And yet at the end of your missions, you come back empty." – he stood up from the chair he was sitting on next to the bed and leaned in closer to my ear – "What are you hiding from me? How much more power or knowledge _can _you have above what you are showing me?"

"Oh! But I am but a lowly human my God, compared to your immortality and infinite knowledge I am utterly insignificant" – I mocked him –

"See?" – He asked straightening up an returning his voice to its normal baritone – "This is what I'm talking about. It's like your ultimate goal in life is to annoy me!" – He said exasperated –

"Oh, don't worry Madara, _you _are not my ultimate goal" – I stated matter of factly, before he turned to leave the room –

"I know. But what _could_ your ultimate goal be?..." – He was standing in the doorway with his back to me and his head was slightly turned in my direction so I could see his damn perfect profile. Damn Uchihas with their damn perfect features! I swear, genetics were a mystery to me at how it could transform the years of inbreeding into THAT. He was mocking me now – "Ah yes! Itachi isn't it?"

FUCK!

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**

**TBC**


	11. Brothers and Sisters

Hey there, I've been quite diligent with my writing, so here's another chapter for you. I had a few scenes i adored writing and i hope you will enjoy them too. this is a chapter meant to explain a few things about the plot of the storry so you better not skip it XD.

Thank you.

Now: Read AND REVIEW!

* * *

Holy Fucking Crap! How the hell did I get myself into this? What have I done wrong this time? God…are you punishing me for Utakata? Couse if you are, it's not fair you know…my balance sheet should be balanced. I saved Itachi, I helped seal a bijoux. Now why? Why would He know? _How_ did he know? What was I doing here in the first place? What the hell had compelled me to come back to this Motherloving asshole? Oh…yeah… saving Sasuke… and the world…

Well…now... _I_ was officially fucked…and you know when something gets broken, it can be fixed, but when something/someone (like me for instance) gets fucked, you can't UNfuck it/him/her/ME. And I was fucked. Madara knew about Itachi. And the sly fucker left the room before I could inquire anything else and I was too fucking tired to go after him. He had planed it perfectly. But another thing that darn right scared me was the fact that the old perverted bastard was actually _nice_ to me. He didn't make one attempt at raising his voice or striking at be for betraying him. He even went so far as to give me advice. Now, the question was: 'Why did he _tell _me?' What was he planning? Did he even know for sure or was he just faking? Thank God I didn't sketch any emotion when he said that to me. And about that…Why did he leave so suddenly? Why didn't he wait for my reaction before he left? Aaaarghhh! So many questions…and the most important one being: What the hell was Red doing in my door staring at me like she wanted to kill me?

"Do you need anything?" – I asked her keeping my voice as monotone as I could –

"What's your relationship with Sasuke?" –she plainly asked me –

Well shit… now there was a question not even Sasuke knew the answer to. That being thanks to her and that idiot of a team mate of theirs.

"Why don't you ask him?" – I replied stoically –

"I can't. He's out cold. Went out just after you."

"Great. How long have I been out?"

"All night and this morning" – she answered coming closer to check my vitals –

I watched curiously. And through her actions, she rose even more questions in my head. Why was she checking my vitals as if to help me when she was supposed to be hating my guts?

"So…" - she started – "about Sasuke…"

"There's nothing between us if that's what you're asking." – I cut her off – "I haven't the slightest interest in him from _that_ perspective. But, have you thought that maybe Sasuke might not like _you_ in that way, Red?" – she blushed and turned her face from me angrily –

"Why do you keep calling me Red?" – She yelled changing the subject –

"Because it doesn't feel right to call you by your real name…"

"And why is that?" – She retorted in a very pissed manner –

"You share the same name as a friend of mine. It just doesn't sound right to me"

"Is that all there is to it?" – she asked wide eyed –

"What else would you have expected?" – I mean I knew I acted bitchy but what reason _would_ I have had to despise her? –

"I thought you were interested in Sasuke and you saw me as a threat…" – she had the most sincere and most innocent tone I had ever heard –

Upon hearing that, I burst out into a fit of laughter. I couldn't stop. I couldn't even breathe.

"That…has to be…the funniest thing… I have ever…ever…heard" – I said between breaths of much needed air –

She huffed and turned her head smugly away from me.

"Now really" – I said calming down and wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. – "Did you actually think I liked Sasuke in a romantic way? He's too stuck up for me…_and_ too young. But enough about that. I wanted to ask you how I'm doing since you took the liberty of checking my vitals."

"You're fine. Your chakra is back 90%. Get something to eat, and you'll be back to your normal annoying self." – she said trying to sound superior. She failed epically. –

"Thank you." – I said and really smiled at her, which seamed to throw her off balance slightly – "You know…" – I continued standing up, and getting off the bed. When I reached the door, I did kind of what Madara did to me earlier: I stood with my back to her and head turned slightly so I could see her with the corner of my eye before I spoke again – "You and my friend _do_ share something else besides a name: you're both very talented medical ninjas."

With that I left her in the room with a very stunned expression. So this is how Madara must have felt when he did that to me, minus the facial expression.

Ok…if I was out cold for the whole night and this morning, that meant that Alexia will be arriving late this evening or tomorrow morning. Time to contact Itachi.

The room I had just left Red in was, surprisingly, Madara's room. I should had taken the liberty of looking around a bit before I left but it was too late now and I had somewhere to go. I went to my room to get my backpack but to my surprise, Sasuke was there.

"What are you doing in my room?" – I asked arching a brow questioningly -

"Looking for you"

"Weren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Hn."

"That's not an answer, but lucky for you, with all my experience with your brother, I had managed to learn how to speak the elusive language of Uchiha. Would you like me to try and translate?" – He looked at me a bit annoyed but curious none the less. So I continued – "That was supposed to mean: '_Of course_ I was supposed to still be in bed, but I decided that I wanted to get up and look for you instead.'"

"Hn"

"And that means I was right" - He smirked, seemingly amused by my comments. -

"Where is Madara?" – I continued –

"Suigetsu said he left just before I woke up"

"He is with the guy I told you about"

"Why would he be there? Didn't you say he wanted mine and his eyes?"

"Yes…but Madara doesn't know that yet. I don't know what he would have done if I told him…he could have ruined my plans."

"So what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to meat up with the girls and Itachi before he returns. We're going to need help when the time arrives."

"I want to come with you" – he said sternly –

He was fixing me with his gaze. It was stern but in the same time pleading. I could see all sorts of emotions flash through those deep eyes of his. First I could see determination, then expectance, hope, sadness. He was probably having a flashback of the last time he saw his brother, which wasn't a happy memory for him. The first thing that passed through my mind was not to let him join me but after taking a look into his eyes again, I completely melted. The hopefulness I found there completely took me in. So I made up my mind.

"How much do you trust your team mates?" – I asked him –

"I don't know about Suigetsu, but Juugo and Karin would follow me wherever I go. Why?"

"Is there any way Juugo or Red could contact you from here?"

"There is a way. Karin has these scrolls that she used in Orochimaru's secret missions to be able to contact him. They are small and they are connected in pairs. Whenever someone writes something in one, the pair heats up and shows what is written on the other."

"Good. Then tell Red to contact you if Madara returns before us."

"All right, but why do you keep calling her Red?"

"You'll see." – I smirked knowingly – "Now go!"

In no time we were both ready to leave. We each made a clone and infused them with our chakra. Sasuke left his in his own room, an I in mine. We did this so Zetsu wouldn't sense our chakras disappear. We concealed our own chakras, and now we were both in my room standing face to face.

"This might be a little nauseating…so hold your breath." – I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards me, activating Mangekyo and teleporting us swiftly to the mansion I had left Itachi, Karin and Mara.

* * *

"KYYYAAAAAAA!"

Was the first thing we heard…but come to think about it, it was enough. I thought I had gone deaf with the intensity of the shriek. Sasuke fell on his ass next to me, the now familiar greenish tint plastered on his face, papers were flying around us like big white butterflies, and Karin was on her ass as well face to face with Sasuke and staring at him like he grew another head.

"What happened?" – His baritone…His voice –

Itachi.

He was upstairs leaning off the ledge. When he noticed me, his eyes went wide a bit. I couldn't think anymore. I felt I had been away from him for _too_ long. I rushed towards him. He jumped downstairs gracefully and straightening up just in time to catch me in a tight hug.

"I missed you." – I told him softly -

"As I you"

"Brought a present…" – I said smirking, and turning to Sasuke, who had not yet gotten up from his uncharacteristic position on the floor –

I could feel Itachi's chakra spike with enthusiasm behind me, as he gently placed his hands on my shoulders.

Sasuke's eyes were wide and staring at us.

"You…You…You're…"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you for the last two days. The girl in the picture… she's not dead… she's me…"

He cleared his throat and straightened up, regaining a bit of his composure and dignity. I could feel Itachi's hands gripping my shoulders more tightly. I believe that for the first time in his life, he might not know what to do. Both Sasuke and Itachi were staring at each other, neither sketching a movement. I couldn't move because I was held tight by Itachi's tight grip on my shoulders.

"Well that was fucking great! Welcome home bitch! And thanks for the mess. You really know how to make an entrance" – Karin, in the time we had wasted with incoherent words and thoughts, had cleaned up the papers she was carrying when we arrived ( or more like popped up), and was now smirking playfully at me. –

Leave it to my Karin to lighten the mood. She was truly a genius. Sasuke had turned toward her, breaking the tension, Itachi dropped his hands, and I was now free to run to her and give her a big sisterly hug.

"Can't believe you're ok…" – she said –

"Gee thanks for the vote of confidence" – I laughed –

"Let's leave the boys alone for a bit. I think they have a lot of catching up to do." – she said as she dragged me into the kitchen.

We cracked the door after we pretended to shut it and we were now fighting for dominance of the position of who will get to spy on them through the crack. A bit of pushing and showing later, and we found a position we could both see them in.

They hadn't moved, but they seamed to be speaking. Neither of us could hear what they were saying, but we could sense the tension. They talked for about a minute, but to me, it seamed like an hour. Finally they moved and what I saw next almost made me cry out of sheer joy. They hugged. Finally…the two brothers reunited. We waited for another couple of moments to let them compose themselves again before we entered.

"Had a nice spying session?" – Itachi asked amused –

"Aha, sure did" – Karin answered before I could even open my mouth. –

"Where's Mara?" – I asked looking around curiously –

"Taijutsu practice. Back yard" – She answered –

"Alone? What were you doing?" – I asked her –

"Planetary research" – She told me holding up the paperwork –

"And you?" – I turned to Itachi –

"Shower?" – He simply answered shrugging innocently –

"Fuck you guys…I swear if the mighty Itachi Uchiha lets me train alone again, I'm shoving o very hot fire poker up his…." - An angry feminine voice was heard from the entrance hall -

"And that… would be Mara" – I said laughing –

"And, now that we're all here, we can start the introductions"

"Karin, Sasuke. Sasuke, Karin. Mara, Sasuke. Sasuke, Mara. Done" – I said smiling –

They were looking dumbstruck at me. It made me laugh. Sasuke was probably startled by my lack of etiquette, but Itachi nudged him in the ribs, so he bowed politely.

"Pleased to meat you both" – He said – "And thank you for helping Aniki."

Itachi's eyes lit up when he heard Sasuke call him 'Aniki' again, but before he could say anything, Karin joked playfully.

"Oh, don't worry Sasuke, we got our payment, we have your whole life as a child memorized by now, funny stuff included."

Now, that earned Itachi a dirty look from his otouto.

Not long after that, we relayed every thing that happened to us with Akatsuki. From my arrival, to my talk with Sasuke in Tsukyomi, and the sealing of the six tailed bijoux. And then explained to Sasuke what we had learned so far.

"But one must wonder…" – Itachi started – "Why _did_ Madara press you into doing the sealing ceremony so quickly? Do you think it could have something to do with that girl's arrival?"

"Could be…" – I trailed off –

"Look." – Karin spoke – "I have the exact date of the first planetary alignment. But you don't have a place yet…"

"We know for a fact that Sasuke would need to be there with Madara so he is most prone to find out the location first." - This time it was Mara who explained. –

"But how do _we_ get the info?" – Itachi inquired –

Then it hit me.

"Oh, but that's the simplest task." – I said looking at Sasuke, who, for a second seemed perplexed, but caught on fast –

He reached inside his cloak and drew out the small scroll through which Red was supposed to really info to him, and explained it's purpose. But just before he handed it to his brother…

"Shit! It's worm" – He said opening it – "Madara's back!"

He left the scroll with Itachi and we stood up to leave. I hugged Itachi and the girls goodbye and went to Sasuke's side; but before I could make the move to grab his arm and teleport us out of there, Karin had caught Sasuke in a hug.

I was now smirking deviously at her and the profuse blush she was sporting, and she had seen that.

"Fuck you!" – she retorted playfully –

"Haha!" – I chuckled – "It's not me you wanna fuck, though…" – I said and grabbed Sasuke's arm and transporting us back to the base, leaving a very stunned Karin behind. –

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" – asked Sasuke, the moment we appeared inside his room, in a very annoyed tone –

"Gotta go…" – I said disappearing –

Once inside the sanctity of my room, I dispelled the clone, grabbed a book, and started reading like nothing ever happened. I really wanted to go back to Itachi, or maybe even talk to Sasuke a bit more, but it was late at night and Madara had just arrived. I couldn't do anything. The book in my hands was there just for show. I couldn't concentrate on anything else than the sweet warmth of Itachi's arms. I could still feel them around me. My skin still burned from that simple touch. I still had butterflies in my stomach…_As I you…_his words still rang in my head. His deep baritone still sending shivers up my spine…those words, his smile, the freeness with which he expressed his emotions, those were things reserved for me and his little otouto…we were the only privileged. The thought of that made me smirk a bit. Setting the book on the nightstand, I got up, took off my Akatsuki cloak and changed into a pair of white boxers and a tight white tank top, and got into bed. Sleep didn't waste much time taking over me.

* * *

"_Do well and memorize!" – said the voice that I heard in my last dream – _

_The man that wanted Sasuke's and Madara's eyes…I was seeing another glimpse of him, but this time, he was not in the shadows, but had his back to me. I still couldn't see him. He was showing a series of hand seals to the 14 year old girl, Alexia. She seamed to catch on quick. In no time, she had the signs down to a near lightning speed._

"_Do you remember the chakra proportions I taught you?" – he asked her – _

"_Yes father."_

"_Good. You can practice on Takero here."_

_She nodded and proceeded in doing the hand seals. 'Takero' I noticed, was a middle aged average man. He stood a couple of meters away from Alexia waiting for her to begin the jutsu. This particular jutsu, actually seamed quite complicated. The series of hand seals was long and judging by the tension in the girl's shoulders, it required an impressive amount of chakra mixed very specifically. As soon as she finished the hand seals, chains shot from the ground encircling and binding Takero. I could see the chakra running through them but it was combined with a sort of a sealing energy._

"_Very good. Now…tell me what you are supposed to do." – the man spoke to her again. – _

"_Hold him in these bindings until you take the power of Eternal Sharingan and seal it into…"_

…

* * *

The dream…What was he supposed to seal Madara's eyes into? What happened? Oh God…he was in my room. Was it morning already? No, it couldn't be. It was still night outside…

"I do not take being disturbed from my beauty sleep lightly, Madara." – I said trying to sound imposing, but I do believe I thoroughly failed. I _was_ half naked and sleeping before he came in.

"Interesting…she had sensed you even when she was sleeping, and you were concealing your chakra."

Oh…My…God! There was someone else in the room. I opened my eyes slightly. It was her. Alexia had arrived. Act composed Jessie.

"Now Madara…" – I stated coldly – "That was quite rude of you…not mentioning we had guests."

"Well then, why don't you get dressed and join us downstairs so we can make the introductions." – he chuckled and left, with Alexia trailing behind him.

I can't believe I didn't sense her. That was scary. I did not feel Madara's chakra but I sensed his presence, but with her, it was like she wasn't even there. I had to check that out, preferably with my Jagan, when she was asleep. Nobody could conceal their presence so completely.

With that in mind, I put on a pair of jeans and my cloak, and proceeded downstairs. Upon entering the hall I stole a knowing glance from Sasuke, who shortly but diligently returned it.

"Forgive me for so rudely disturbing all of you from your rest" – Madara began – "But, as you all can see, we have a guest. Her name is Alexia Sasaki, and I would like for you all to treat her with the respect she deserves for being part of the Sasaki House"

Sasaki…Sasaki? My mind had gone blank…this could not be happening to me…it was impossible…the reason why the voice seamed familiar to me, the reason _she_ seamed familiar to me…she looked like me…father, she said…the man I was trying to save Sasuke from…the man that was trying to take Madara's eyes…he was…He _is_…**My father...**

**

* * *

**I don't want to make this sound like a star wars cliche, but bear with me (I have quite a few daddy issues) **...REVIEW!  
**


	12. Broken

You know, they say that when you have a near death experience, you see your whole life flashing before your eyes. That cannot be more untrue. I had had a couple of near death experiences in my life and in neither of them did I see even a short flash of my past. I _do_ remember that each time everything seamed to move like in slow motion, but I can just blame that on adrenaline rush. No… my whole life did not flash before my eyes when I thought I was going to die. But it did now…

My father was the man that I have been trying to beat. The epiphany was mind bottling. Alexia should be my half sister, since I know for a fact that father has NOT slept with mother since I was seven or maybe even six years old. Why haven't I seen this? God damn strong gens! She looked so much like him…so much like _me_.

From the first time I could remember my father, Adrian Sasaki, was a ruthless man. Stoic and strong. He had an imposing character, and made most of his enemies cower at the mere mention of his name. _I_ as a diligent young shinobi wannabe, was more than proud to be his daughter. My mother on the other hand was not as happy to be his wife. Their marriage was made by alliance. She was the young Lady of the house of Misuka; a very wealthy and powerful family, and they decided to marry their only daughter to a strong shinobi so she would be well taken care of.

That couldn't have been farther from the truth. They fought almost every day. That was the reason I spent so much time with Itachi at Shi no Mori, I wanted to get away from the yelling. When I grew older, I started to eavesdrop on them. Big mistake. He kept telling her how weak she was, how weak _I_ was, that he couldn't stand us, that we were holding him down…_that _was the father I knew.

The room I was in, came into contour. I realized that I was still in the grand hall of the Akatsuki base and Madara was still talking. None of the people in the room were looking at me, which made me realize that my facial expression was still very detached. _Thank you_ Itachi for teaching me stoicism.

"…and will be a part of Akatsuki from now on" – Madara finished his speech –

Or at least I think he finished, because I had no idea what he said up until now. The last statement must have meant that Alexia was now part of our little select group of runaway criminals. This was just great…I had to spend a week with my half sister. Did she even know that she was my sister? And if she did…Oh No!...my stomach just did a flip flop…oh…there it was again…Shit…Bathroom!

I ran until I was in my room, entered the bathroom, shut the door, leaned over the toilet and proceeded in trying to throw up. _Trying _being the key word in this. I had not eaten in two da…no make that three days since one of the days was the one I was sealing the bijoux and then out cold. It hurt. My stomach was in knots…painful knots. After what seamed like an eternity, the spasms subsided.

I sat down next to the toilet and put my head between my knees. I felt sick. I felt abandoned. I felt like shit…and above that _he_ was coming. I didn't even have the energy to get up rather alone compose myself. I didn't even care now.

"Had a nice reunion? I thought you would be happy to see your 'long lost' sister."

"You knew?" – the weakness of my voice surprised myself –

"How does it feel…" – he asked me with an evil smirk – "To know both your parents have betrayed you? That you are utterly alone in this world?"

He knew about me. He wanted me broken down, and he acted nice the couple of last times just so I would have a false sense of security. He did it. He finally managed to break me down into little pieces. He was right. I was completely alone now. I could not even save myself. My father wanted me dead, my mother had lied to me for all my life. All I had known up until almost a year ago had been a lie. Who was I kidding? How much could I had learned until I was eight? The truth was I knew nothing of the shinobi world. Itachi was right…I was just a cocky child… I looked up, probably with a hopeless expression…I didn't even know how to conceal my emotions anymore.

"Must have felt good up until now…" – he continued nonchalantly – "being the Princess of Akatsuki. And oh…that reminds me: I hope you had fun with Kisame. Though Itachi wouldn't be too happy with that knowledge…." – he trailed off smirking –

I widened my eyes slightly being completely taken aback by his words. I opened my mouth to deny that but he cut me off.

"So he _is_ alive. I knew my Sharingan wouldn't lie to me. The body was perfectly made. Flawless actually. I don't know how you did that, but it was impressive. You just missed one minor detail. He had no chakra vessels in his Sharingan." – He told me –

I could sense his enthusiasm for the fact that he did what he did just now. I was acting like a fool. I gave myself away. I held up perfectly to his taunts until now. He made me give myself _away_. I gave Itachi away.

"Bastard!" – I yelled –

I had finally managed to find the strength to get up and lunge at him. He flung his right arm at me and hit me straight in the sternum. His hand felt like it was made out of reinforced concrete. I hit the opposite wall, cracking a few tiles in the process. He left me there, chuckling darkly to himself as he exited. All there was left for me to do we cry myself to sleep on the cold and empty bathroom floor…And so I did…

Cold…damp…empty…inside and out. That's how I felt when I opened my eyes the next morning. I was still on the bathroom floor. A pipe from the wall I hit last night had cracked, sprinkling a soft spray of cold water on top of me. I shivered. I was lying in a small puddle. My cloak had become wet and I felt chilled to the bone, or rather to the soul. I remembered what transpired last night. I didn't know how I would be able to face anyone today. I couldn't even contemplate looking Madara in the eye. I could not face him again…not after what happened. I could not face Kisame without thinking of what I did to Itachi, and I could not see Sasuke without remembering how completely I let him down.

I found a slight bit of strength to get up and fix the broken pipe. I ran the hot water, got out of my cloths, and stood under the hot spray.

I would eventually _have_ to go face them all. What would I say? How would I act? What would Alexia say? She would probably tare me down even more. What will I do?...Itachi…

I had finally managed to wash rather than just stay under the hot spray of water, got dressed in a baggy pair of pants and a simple t-shirt and put my cloak on a chair by the window so it will dry.

I seated myself on the bed. There was nothing for me to do. I concluded I was not going downstairs under any circumstances. Not today…I just couldn't do it today. I stared at the ceiling trying to think of nothing, but Madara's words still rang in my head: '_To know both your parents have betrayed you? That you are utterly alone in this world?_'…alone… "_So he__** is**__ alive_"…Itachi…what have I done?

I do not know how much time had passed until sleep took me again.

_A fight scene from above? Where was I? Another dream? _

_I looked down below me to see what was happening. There was a lot of shouting going on. Below me, I could see all hell break loose. It was dark outside. The fight was taking place inside an immense dome like building, which had a hole in the roof so the light of the moon could shine through but, the moon was being covered. It was an eclipse. Just a little bit and the moon will disappear. A scream dragged my attention back to the battle 50 meters under me. Mara had screamed as she was caught in an impressive number of vines that were coming from Zetsu. Juugo and Suigetsu, were fighting a woman I had never seen before. Itachi, Karin, Sasuke and Kisame were struggling with a horde of obviously highly skilled ninja that were trying to stop them from advancing to the other side of the building, where I was fighting my father with Sou'Unga, and Madara was fighting Alexia._

_The old Uchiha, was wearing his orange mask and seamed like he was playing with her, dodging her attacks one by one and managing to hit her more times than she would have liked. _

_I on the other hand was par on par with father. The fight was elegant. Neither of us putting too much effort into it. We were both waiting for something to happen._

"_Madara! Get out of there! I told you to go!" – The 'me' on the battle field screamed._

_He just laughed and paid no heed to my words. _

_The moon was now completely covered._

"_Alexia NOW!" – Adrian commanded – _

"_NOOO!" – the 'dream me' screamed – _

_The girl did the jutsu faster than anyone could have thought. Those chains shot from the ground toward Madara, who skillfully dodged them, but to no avail. The chains twisted following him and wrapped completely around his body. I could see him trying to go through them but the jutsu seamed to be created especially for him. He was trapped._

'_Dream me' seamed to be distracted by the sight and got hit by a blast coming from a Doton jutsu Adrian had made. Which left 'me' momentarily stunned and unable to get up._

_My father rushed next to Madara and pulled out a ruby as big as his hand. He proceeded in making a long series of hand seals. When the jutsu preparation had been completed, chakra started to pour out of Madara's eyes and enter the red stone. Get up! I wanted to scream at my dream self but I found I had no voice. I wanted to tell myself to go and save him, to not let father get his eyes. _

_The jutsu ended. The immortal Uchiha's Sharingan was now sealed inside the ruby and Adrian pulled out his sword again. His intention was to run it through Madara's heart. I wanted to scream. I wanted to go there and help him but I could not move._

_NOOOOO!_

The world spun around me. I could see nothing. Darkness was all there was. What's going on? This never happened to me before…

_Another scenery. This time, it was a bright sunny day. Two boys were sparring a fair distance away. I drifted in closer, to get a better look. They both looked like they were part of the Uchiha clan, and sure enough, I could see the Uchiha crest on the back of their shirts. They both seamed like extraordinary fighters. Their moves were fluid and graceful, and they both seamed to be having fun. One of them, the oldest I believe, had eventually managed to pin the younger to the ground._

"_Ouch…Anikiiii…" – the boy that was pined, whined – _

"_You need more practice otouto" – the older playfully mocking his younger brother – "We should go back inside…mother and father should have lunch ready by now." – he continued still smiling broadly – _

"_Demooo…Madara-nisan, I still want another chance at beating you."_

"_Izuna…" – he chuckled sweetly – "Maybe later ok? Now we need to go inside."_

_His brother pouted but followed him inside none the less._

Madara? _**That **_was Madara? Uchiha Madara? It couldn't have been… he was so happy. His eyes were so alive, so caring. He seamed so…human. The world started swirling around me again, black overtaking my vision.

_The same house as before. Madara and Izuna stood motionless at the entrance, a man clad in battle uniform was bowing politely at them. He looked like he just came out of a massive battle, while barely escaping with his life. There were cuts all over his body and a couple of deep gashes that were still oozing blood. _

"_Madara-sama, Izuna-sama…Gomen nasai. I will have to be the one to inform you of your parent's loss. My deepest condolences. They were extraordinary shinobi, both of them died honorably." – He said not looking them in the eye – _

Madara stared to yell but I couldn't hear him because the swirling and darkness started…again. I was getting used to this…What next?

_Screaming. I could hear clashes of metal against metal. Jutsus over jutsus being thrown one against the other. A raging battle. Chaos was everywhere. War…_

_Madara and Izuna were fighting back to back surrounded by enemy shinobi. They both had Mangekyo Sharingan activated. Madara's Mangekyo seamed a bit different from what I could see in my time spent with him. They both fought superbly. It was like they knew what the other was thinking. _

The black again. The scenery changed for the third time now. A cave. I could hear the battle outside.

_Madara was lying on the cave floor, his brother leaning over him, a worried expression caressing his beautiful features._

"_Aniki…" – he trailed off – _

"_Izuna…I cannot see…__**I cannot see**__!" – Madara said while he was staring blankly at the cave ceiling – _

"_What can I do to help" – the youth asked desperately – _

"_Izuna…"_

_Madara said his younger brother's name gently, but his actions said otherwise. He forcefully grabbed Izuna's arm and spun them around so as he was on top of him._

"_Forgive me otouto…" – he said – _

"_Aniki?...What are you doing? ANIKIIIIII!"_

Why was I being shown this? Why was I being forced to watch as Madara gouged his little brother's eyes out? WHY WAS THIS HAPPENING TO MEEE?

_I screamed inside my mind. _

_The scenery changed again. I was back inside the dome like building I had been when I started dreaming. Father held his sword above Madara's heart._

_Did I want him dead? Did I actually want to save him? After seeing what he did? After seeing how he betrayed his brother? After knowing that he was the reason Konoha had been attacked by the Kyuubi? After knowing that he was the one that helped Itachi with the Uchiha clan massacre, and unlike Itachi, he had done it willingly, he had done it smiling…_

_Did I want to save him?_

_Adrian plunged the sword through Madara's heart. _

_This was like something out of a horror movie._

_I was surrounded by bodies. They were all dead. Mara, Zetsu, Juugo, Suigetsu, Red, Kisame, Karin, Sasuke, Madara, Itachi… Itachi._

I gasped and fell. Out o my bed? I was still in the Akatsuki base. It was only a fucked up dream. On hell of a fucked up dream. But what if it wasn't? What if what I saw _was_ the future. What if I could not save any of them? Did I even want to save all of them? Did I want Madara dead? And if I did, would his death mean the loss of all the others?

I leaned my back against the side of the bead and put my head between my knees. I couldn't breathe. All my self confidence had evaporated. I did not even have what to base it on in the first place. Only my cocky personality. I was bound to go down eventually. My downfall was imminent from the moment I had uttered the first word to Uchiha Madara. I felt as if my life was doomed, as if I had crumbled into small tiny peaces of what I used to be, I entered the shinobi world with the knowledge that my dreams provided and I thought myself superior to everyone because of that knowledge. I thought that I could overcome anything because I had the Jagan. I could not be more wrong.

In spite of the fact that I was broken and lost, I had to do something. If I did not get up from where I had metaphorically fallen, I would never get to see the light of my resolve again. I would not get to see Konoha or Itachi ever again. I had to put myself together if only just a little, and get myself off this fucking bed and go face the word and the SHIT I had put myself into. I had to face the consequences of my own actions.


	13. Who's Your Daddy?

**...**

**Have fun with chapter 13...**

**XD**

* * *

Downstairs was a bit different then what I had left the other day. Suigetsu was cleaning his ginormous blade, Madara was sitting at the table discussing something with Zetsu, and Alexia was calmly standing against a wall opposite to where I entered observing the room and my presence carefully.

The ancient Uchiha had his Orange mask off as he turned toward me sporting a sly and wicked smirk in his thick lips. I turned my gaze away from the site not bearing to see his smug behavior.

"So…you have decided to join the living?" He asked maliciously.

I ignored the comment walking over to my half sister, whom, I presume, didn't even know that she _was_ my half sister.

"Forgive my actions last night. It might have seamed rude to you but I had some rough work to do until you came here and I felt quite ill. We have not been properly introduced. I am Jessica Kristina Bannon." I said calmly to her.

"Sasaki Alexia …pleased to meat your acquaintance." She stated indifferently.

"Pleased as well"

Madara and Zetsu got up to leave but _he_ did not forget to brush past me in a significantly disturbing manner, as if to show me that he still has the upper hand in our little quarrel. Suigetsu left as well, probably to pick another fight with Kisame…that left Alexia and I alone.

"So…" She started "What's you're story?"

"You ask as if you got info from the rest of Akatsuki, fact which I profoundly doubt." I was only answered with silence. "My though exactly…" I continued "But…if you are willing to tell me your story I would be more than happy to tell you mine."

"That will not be happening."

"I suspected as much…" I said preparing to leave

"You seem familiar to me…" She said thoughtfully.

At that I looked at her emotionlessly and left. I needed someone to talk to…something….anything, so I went to Sasuke's room. He was there; packing…

"What are you doing?" I asked him

"Packing"

"Well DUH Einstein, I can see that…why?"

"I have some things to sort out…I will be back in a short while…definitely by the end of the week" He said giving me a knowing look.

"Where the FUCK do you think you are going in the middle of all this SHIT? Sasuke? Were you even paying attention to me? And what about Madara?"

"He will be coming with me"

"Now that just peachy…thank you for setting my mind at ease…" I said obviously pissed and sarcastic.

"That's none of your concern."

"Well fuck you then…just come back alive…and if you by any chance _die_ in the process of 'sorting out your stuff' please call me and let me know!" I said as I exited the room and slammed the door in my wake. Not satisfied with the way things went I turned around and opened his door again, noticing that he was quite startled when I did that.

"And just so you know…I'M FINE BY THE WAY!" And now I finally slammed the door shut laughing quietly to myself at the silly funny face he made when he saw me again.

Satisfied with myself I went back to my room, used some jutsues to clean up the mess I had left in the bathroom and seated myself by the window and started reading from Dante Alighieri's Divina Comedia, The Inferno, which was a bit of what I was feeling right now: MY LIFE WAS A LIVING HELL!

* * *

The next six days went quite uneventful: Zetsu was patrolling the perimeter, Kisame was busy relaying to Madara what was happening with Killer Bee and Naruto and the old Uchiha was bent on making me suffer…you know…the usual…

By the end of the sixth day, at about 7 o'clock in the evening, Madara, who left the base that very morning, had returned with a very injured Sasuke. I followed them to the infirmary.

"My line was busy…I don't think I got your call…" I said sarcastically to the injured boy.

"I'm not dead"

"Oh…It's ok…you can call me later. By the way…Where's Red?"

"Dead…I think…"

"WHAT? And who's gonna heal you now? Juugo?"

"Very funny…I'll heal naturally"

Madara who was not paying any attention to us, left wordlessly. I sent a bit of my chakra out to scan. There was no one in the vicinity.

"Sasuke…Are you insane? We are nearing the most important battle and you are injured…what was in your head?"

"I killed Danzo"

At that I was speechless. I sincerity did not expect that answer.

"Hold on." I said as I exited the room.

I found the object of my search in an instant. He was standing outside the infirmary.

"Juugo…do you have the scrolls that Orochimaru used to use in the secret missions? You know the ones that heat up?"

"Yes…" He said skeptically "But how do y…"

"Never mind how I know…the important thing is that Sasuke needs your help. Split a pair with me and report to us when Madara or Zetsu are nearing the infirmary."

"But…"

"No 'buts' just do it. Please. We don't have much time"

He reluctantly gave me a scroll and I entered the infirmary again placing it in my back pocket, and turned on my Mangekyo. I teleported us back to Itachi's and the girl's hideout.

"OH FOR FUCK"S SAKE! WE NEED TO BUY YOU GUY'S A CELL PHONE SO YOU CAN WARN US WHEN YOU'RE GONNA POP UP" That was Mara's voice…I didn't need her…

"Where's Karin?" I asked her impatiently

"Nice to see you too…" then she noticed Sasuke's deplorable state "She's outside training with Itachi…I'll call her"

In a couple of moments Both Karin and the Uchiha prodigy were inside the house.

"Sasuke…" Came Itachi's worried voice.

"Set him on the table" Karin said.

I had to pry Itachi's 'unwilling to let go' hands from Sasuke's person so I could help him onto the table.

In the next our and a half I saw Karin work her magic over Sasuke, whom, she had professionally stripped down to the boxers to be able to reach his wounds. He was looking at her intently, without saying a word, while she was concentrating on healing him. His eyes were fixed on her.

"Why did you hug me before we left last time?" Sasuke was the first to break the silence.

"First time I had seen you since you deserted Konoha for Orochimaru…It seamed the right thing to do" She replied absentmindedly, finding a new gash to work on. He winced, probably from the slight pain of moving his injured limb.

When she finally finished healing his wounds, she did a final check up by slowly and gently running her hands over his whole body. When she reached his chest, I could see a small blush caressing Sasuke's cheeks.

"Thank you" He said

Considering the way the said conversation was going before the 'Thank you' was uttered I had no idea if the line was intended to thank her for the healing or the hug… judging by Karin's expression, neither did she… and despite that, she muttered a small "You're welcome".

"Tomorrow…" I said handing the scroll Juugo gave me to Itachi.

"Tomorrow…" he echoed.

We quickly said our goodbyes and teleported Sasuke and I back to the infirmary, where he told Juugo to give me the other scroll.

"What's going on?" The orange haired man asked.

"You will see tomorrow…I cannot say more now Juugo." Was all that Sasuke told him, before he gave me another scroll, but this time, the young Uchiha had the counterpart, so he could let me know where the ceremony will take place.

"You need to still act injured. Good luck." I told him before leaving to take a shower and prep myself for the coming chaos…tomorrow. I _did_ faintly hear a 'you too' from Sasuke as I exited the room.

* * *

After I had thoroughly washed myself, I let the hot water run down my body in a soothing manner. I had a lot of questions again. Like if Zetsu was going with them, or…was Kisame going to tag along? If Madara decided to take Kisame with him and Sasuke, how would I be able to brief him on what was going on before something happened?

Turning off the water and towel drying, I decided to leave it up to fate, trust my luck and trust Sasuke. With that in mind, I snuggled into the covers I was never going to spend another night in…and thank God for that.

It was late in the afternoon when I woke up. I went downstairs to grab a cup of coffee when I was greeted by the sight of Kisame enjoying a glass of sake.

"This early in the morning? What's wrong? Girlfriend left you?" I cracked a joke…epic fail…

"Ha Ha! Very funny…"

"Sorry...too early…at least I tried."

"Your efforts are accounted for..."

"Thanks. Coffee?"

"Counter…"

"Thanks…"

As I poured myself a hot mug, I already felt I was waking up.

"Who's here?"

"Monster-boy, The idiot that's chasing after my sword, and me…"

"Tonight Kisame…it's tonight. Zetsu's not on our side and neither is Alexia. If you're still with me, we need to stop somebody who's trying to steal Madara's and Sasuke's eyes. The world as we know it will end if we don't."

"Who's trying to do that?"

So I explained everything to Kisame. From the three blades that Mara, Karin and I acquired, to how we resurrected Itachi, to the planetary alignments and that plan that my father had.

"You can still back out if you want…" I told him setting the now empty mug of coffee on the table.

"Well, you see Princess…Someone's gotta watch your back…that might as well be me…"

"Thank you" I said smiling

Kisame had managed to haul Juugo and Suigetsu to the meeting room where I could explain to them the gravity of the situation Sasuke was in…surprisingly, they both agreed to help. After that I teleported them back to where the girls and Itachi were.

* * *

"THE SCROLLS WERE GIVEN FOR A REASON! USE THEM!" That was Mara.

"AREN'T YOU GETTING TIRED OF FUCKING POPING UP HERE WITH RANDOM PEOPLE?" Karin was yelling now.

"Lively bunch aren't they?" Kisame asked me sporting _the_ green tint on his face.

"Yeah… I know…" I said covering my years. Upon hearing the commotion Itachi quickly made his presence known.

"Ahem…"

"Yo! Partner…" Kisame joked "What have you been up to?" then he turned towards the other two members of teem Taka who were staring at Itachi like he grew another head. "What's wrong with you two?" He said laughing "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Oh SHIT!" I realized "I haven't told them about that…" I smiled sheepishly "Sorry…My bad…"

I made the necessary introductions and nicely asked the girls and Itachi to brief everybody as I went upstairs.

I could not take it anymore. I was having an anxiety attack, or a panic attack. I couldn't breathe and my mind was running amuck. What would I do once I got there? Would I be able to save Madara? Was he actually worth saving, and if so, how would I do it?...A knock on my door startled me. It was Itachi.

"Are you ok?" He asked me. I could tell he was worried. I had suddenly retreated without saying a word.

"No…I don't think so…I don't think I'm cut out for this…I can't do this Itachi…I don't know what to do".

I was sitting on the edge of the bed. He came towards me and crouched in front of me placing his left hand on my knee for balance and the other reached out to my neck. There he slightly pulled on my necklace.

"Who are you?" He gently asked me. "Where is the girl I gave this to?"

"I don't know where she is anymore…"

"Did Madara chase her out?"

"Probably…" I said desolated

"Bullshit!" He told me in a stern tone. "What happened to you? Are you going to let yourself break down just because _he _said you should?"

I had no idea what to say to him. Did Madara actually manage to break down my spirit so completely that I was beyond repair?

"Where's the spirit I met these many years ago?" He continued "You're the one that taught me to keep on going no matter what because eventually you will find happiness. Have you thrown all that away?"

"Itachi…I…"

"You turned fate around once…Why wouldn't you be able to do that again? What has he done to make you feel so hopeless? Weren't you the one that decided to save _him_?"

"He knows of you…" I tried telling him.

"So what? It makes no difference now! I wouldn't have followed you if I wasn't sure that you could do it…but now you sit here and tell me that _you_ don't believe in yourself anymore? That's a load of bullshit and you know it."

He was, as always, right. I had dragged him into this…I had dragged Karin and Mara into this as well as I did with Kisame, Sasuke, Juugo and Suigetsu. They were all relying on me. I would not dare let them down. I would not dare drag them down the pit Madara had thrown me into. I would climb up and face my fear, and when it would all be over I would laugh in the old Uchiha's face with my triumph in hand.

I stood up. As did Itachi, who saw the new found determination in my eyes and he kissed me passionately.

"Why hello there…" He joked "Now where have _you_ been? I missed you…"

"As I you" I told him mimicking his words from our prior encounter and kissing him again.

We both got ready for battle. I took Sou'Unga from where it was leaned against the wall in Itachi's bedroom. I had left it there for fear of what Madara would think of me appearing at Akatsuki's doorstep with a new weapon in hand, especially one of this caliber. I put the sword on my back, and both Itachi and I went downstairs, where the rest of the group was ready as well.

"Well Princess, I haven't seen this much determination in your eyes for quite some time." Kisame smiled at me. He was wearing Samehada on his back again.

"How…?"

"I decided that this fight was more important than spying on a Jinchiurinki so I left a copy with Killer Bee" He answered before I could even ask the question.

"Thank you" I told him, and he only grinned back.

The scroll in my pocket was getting warm. It was time. I opened it and all that was written was: "Nisshoku Shrine in the Naka Mountains" and I read it out loud. Karin had already gone to get a satellite view over it. On the computer screen I could see the dome shaped building with the hole in the roof from above on the outside. I got a good look at it then with my Jagan, and I teleported all of us in front, in the dark of the night as the full moon shone above us.

The large structure stood ominously in front of us. I was scared but I did not let it show. For everyone's sake…I would _not_ let it show.

"I'm gonna go kick some daddy ass…Who's with me?" And all I got in response were pleasing enthusiastic grins.

"So it begins…" Itachi said taking a step forward.

It was quite quiet. None of us could hear anything.

"How long until the eclipse?" Itachi asked.

"Less than twenty-six minutes" Replied Mara "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Look" I started "My dream started when the eclipse had already begun so I don't know shit right now. I only have a few advices. Mara…you should know that Zetsu isn't exactly battle equipped. He's the more silent killer type, so he uses vines and poisons, but on occasion he can use a very large number of vines and attack with more force than you think him capable of. Don't get scratched stung or anything else that involves losing blood."

"Understood." She said professionally

"Itachi, Karin, Sasuke, Kisame if you can't get past the massive number of shinobi that are restricting your path, try collapsing a part of the roof…I don't know how else to help you…Good luck everybody"

"Where will you be?" Kisame curiously asked.

"Fighting my dear ol' daddy." I said right before I started running inside the shrine to find him.

I had drawn Sou'Unga from its sheath feeling the strong pulse of its power course through my veins. I could feel it thirst for battle, for clash of metal against metal…or metal against flesh. I could faintly hear steps behind me. They were following me. That was good. I hope that my little act out there was convincing to them. In truth I was scared shitless. I was having doubts again weather or not I should save Madara, the one that made my life living Hell, planed the death of the man I love down to the last detail, wants to put the whole world under a permanent genjutsu to be able to…how did he put it?...Oh yes 'Achieve world peace'. But I would not allow myself to dwell on those thoughts too much. I had come here with my mind set already. I was going to do everything in my power to save Madara. We entered the main room of the shrine where my father, Alexia, Madara, Sasuke and Zetsu were.

"I've been waiting for something like this to happen" Adrian said while looking towards Madara, and snapping his fingers.

At the very moment Adrian's finger clicked, a large mass of shinobi came out of hiding. Most of them were using Doton to hide inside the walls or the floor, but some of them had used Henge to transform into objects inside the room. I, on the other hand had expected this large number of shinobi, and ran as fast as lightning right through them until I was face to face with my father, sword drawn out and ready.

"I wasn't expecting this caliber of safety measures, Adrian…are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?" Madara said amused before Alexia attacked him.

"Madara! Get out of here!" I yelled in his direction but to no avail… all I heard was a smug 'Hn' from behind his orange mask. The idiot knew he was being set up but he went through with it anyway. That's a whole lot more self-confidence then is humanly healthy to have.

Adrian pulled out a regal looking katana which he started running his chakra through. The fight was truly beginning.

"So…" he started speaking "How have you been doing since I left?"

"Why so interested all of a sudden? You didn't give a shit about me for fifteen years and I do not expect you start now, so cut the fucking small talk" I said as I lunged toward him.

"Such a vulgar vocabulary" he said blocking my first blow. "I wonder what your mother thinks about that?"

"I wouldn't know." I spoke while I twisted in the air and sent a wave of energy toward him. That was funny…I was not using chakra…that was another kind of energy…well look at that…Sou'Unga rocked ass after all.

I was slowly learning to use my sword as the fight progressed but I was definitely not using it full blast and neither did my father use his powers fully.

"Madara! Get out of there! I told you to go!" I screamed

He just laughed and paid no heed to my words.

"Alexia NOW!" Adrian commanded

I had just clashed blades with him again and I was in the air when I decided to look at the battle field and the sky. This was it. Just like my dream, the moon was now completely covered. Adrian was going to hit me as soon as I would land, so I concentrated on doing a simple quick series of hand seals for a Doton jutsu and a shadow clone, but, hopefully, faster than he could see. I also concentrated chakra into my skin and skull so I would not faint at the impact of the jutsu dad was throwing at me.

It worked…in a way…my plan included getting hit, but I did not calculate that it was actually going to hurt. I dropped my sword as I was flying through the air in the direction of a thick rock wall. I broke through the wall with the force of my father's jutsu but as soon as the rubble settled on top of me and I couldn't be seen anymore, I entered the earth and activated my Jagan, leaving a shadow clone under the mountain of debris just in case.

Adrian had already started to steel Madara's eyes. I watched, unable to do anything to stop him, for fear that if the ritual was interrupted sooner, than I might hurt the old Uchiha or break the ruby which held the power of his Sharingan, which would make it impossible to get it back.

I grabbed my sword and dragged it into the earth with me. Madara had fallen to his knees and was bleeding from both his eyes, but had a defying look on his face, despite the predicament he was in. Bound in chains, he was still glaring at my father…that's what I call strong-spirited.

Adrian raised his sword above Madara's heart. I rose up from the earth quickly right between them running chakra through my left hand so I could catch my father's sword before it hit it's target, or me for that matter.

"Barehanded ka?" he asked a bit taken aback.

I only smirked in response and swung my blade to his neck. He jumped back pulling his sword with him and forcing me to let go of it before it cut through my chakra as well as my hand. That was it…no more 'miss nice girl' he was intensely pissing me off with his disconsideration of me, but before I could do anything, I was assaulted by a wave of water. I surfaced and looked behind me: Madara was fine, the blood was washed off his face though. I turned to see where the water had come from. Haha Kisame was on the same page with me here. He had gotten too bored probably and was now massacring the poor shinobi one by one with summoned sharks. It was a site to behold and quite funny too in a twisted and sick sort of way but I had to finish the fight I was in at the moment. Deciding to take advantage of Kisame's distraction I decided to attack.

"Katon Ryūka no Jutsu!" I said as a very large fire dragon raised itself to attack father. The dragon had its back to me and was going the opposite direction towards Adrian and I jumped toward it. Just as I suspected, dear ol' dad slashed the dragon and I caught him off guard when I came through his own slash and disarmed him.

I was standing above him, his own sword out of reach, and mine at his throat. I raised Sou'Unga above his heart and…I stopped. Could I do it? I had never actually killed someone like this before. Yeah…I used jutsus and some people and shinobi and a few Jinchiurinki died because of me, but that was something totally different than plunging a sword through someone's heart.

This whole trail of thought must have lasted about a fraction of a second but before I could debate with myself any longer, a blast came from behind me. A wall had been broken down and through the debris and smoke I saw a yellow flash, and…Adrian had picked up his sword and had stabbed me through the stomach with it…Father got away…Itachi held me tight and was carrying me to the rest of my friends…his lips were moving but I couldn't make out what he was saying…darkness.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**

**TBC**


	14. Team Seven and  HOW MANY DID YOU SAY?

**Hey you Guys! I had updated the last two chapters in a hurry and i did not have time to add a note for you.**

**About my story. I'm trying to go on cannon as much as i can, but my original ideas clash (or more like headbutt) with the current line of the cannon story and there will be some (more) deviations from the cannon epic line. Sorry about that. I'm trying to make a love scene and the damned war keeps getting in my way *sigh*.**

**I'm also working hard on NOT making my OC a Mary-Sue, and please tell me if you spot something like that.  
**

Oh well...you know the drill R&R.

And thank you to all the people that reviewed this story. You guys keep me happy XD.

* * *

I was woken up by a loud ruckus. Two girls were screaming at each other. One of them was Karin…my little Karin could yell when she wanted to…and the other…I could not recognize. I tried opening my eyes. I was still in the Nisshoku Shrine. What used to be a dome-like roof with a circular hole in the middle was now a shadow of what it used to be. The whole roof was collapsed. When I tried to stand up, pain shot through by body, and I grinded my teeth together to stop from shouting. In a flash I remembered what had happened: my father, Adrian Sasaki had stabbed me through the stomach and had probably gotten away.

"We should remove the toxins immediately" the voice that I could not recognize said. I lifted my head so I could see who it was. I was met by a mass of pink…pink hair…Sakura Haruno…the Hokage's apprentice, Naruto's current teammate and Sasuke's former teammate.

"She's stabbed through the stomach you incompetent lollypop. If we don't heal the damaged organ first it's just going to continue leaking out toxins!" That…was Karin.

"Hey" I said in a weaker voice than I expected.

"Oh! Now she woke up see what you did Haruno?"

"What _I_ did? _You_ were the one yelling at _me_!"

"Would you too just quit it already!" a male voice said…I looked to my right and I saw Hatake Kakashi standing just a few feet away.

What the hell was happening here? Why were Konoha jounin here in the temple? Had they come after Akatsuki, Adrian or maybe Mara and Karin, or maybe they came for Sasuke… I decided to find that out later. I had too much stuff left to do, and I would not be too contempt if I would die here.

"Why doesn't Sakura remove the toxins while you heal the wound?" I asked Karin.

"Yeah…good point." She said.

"I'm not working hand in hand with a traitor." Sakura huffed and turned away.

"If you too bimbos don't stop arguing and do something, I'm going to torture you both for the next seventy-two hours! Is that clear?" Itachi's voice came from behind me…and he was pissed. 'Pissed' actually being a mild understatement. He was furious, and he meant every last word he said. The two girls now looked mortified…he was probably giving them the 'Uchiha glare'. I smiled to myself as the two medics scattered to do what he said…or more like ordered.

I felt two warm chakras running through my damaged aria and spreading throughout my whole body, and I passed out again.

* * *

My brain was slowly starting to wake up but my body was vehemently trying to tell it different. I felt tired and because of the fact that I was lying on a soft bed, I was determined not to leave it so quickly.

"So Itachi's not the emotionless mass murderer we thought him to be? Tebbayo…"

"I'm actually surprised you know what 'emotionless' means dobe!"

"Urusai TEME!"

Naruto and Sasuke were talking…I suppose they have been briefed of the situation at hand…Wait…Naruto? What was _he_ doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be on some island with Killer Bee? Why was I hearing his voice along with the others from downstairs?

"You two haven't changed at all…" Kakashi's voice spoke muffled by Sakura's shouting:

"WOULD YOU TWO GROW UP ALREADY!"

I had to get up. I got out of the bed noticing a little discomfort in my middle section, but the wound was gone. The girls sure did a good job with it. I noticed I was back in the old Victorian mansion that was first use as an Akatsuki base and then as our hideout. I slowly exited the room I was in, which was Itachi's room, and started descending the flight of stairs that lead to the living room. There I could see that everybody had gathered except for one.

"Where's Madara?" I asked as all eyes turned toward me. Kisame, who was sitting on a couch with his back to me, turned his head to look at me and pointed his thumb to the upper level of the house, from were I just came. I only nodded. So Madara was asleep or passed out…interesting. I turned back to go and search for the room in which the old Uchiha was sleeping when I heard:

"OH no you don't!" Sakura… "Not until you explain to us who the hell you are and why does the Daimyo trust you so much!"

"The Daimyo?" I asked perplexed…I knew that Mara spoke to him but that was supposed to be a secret.

"I was proposed to be the next Hokage after Tsunade entered a coma and before Danzo took the title." Kakashi explained. "I do not know how he obtained the name of Hokage without the Jounin's vote but I do suppose it had something to do with AMBU ROOT. I can tell you that the Daimyo does not trust Danzo and he called for me to brief me on something top secret…I presume you can figure out yourself what he told me."

"Yeah…too little of too much…" I said cryptically as I watched his expression change from confident to 'not so' from behind his mask. But before I could continue explaining anything else to him, I found myself 'face to chest' with Itachi who was intently looking down at me.

"Are you done?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"Y-Yes…" I stuttered not expecting his reaction. But just when I was about to open my mouth to say something more, the words were stopped by _his_ mouth and all that could be heard was a muffled 'Hmmm' when he kissed me forcefully.

I could hear the reactions in the room as I got over my initial shock and kissed him back.

"Aaaaaaa!" Sakura

"Well…That is new" Kakashi said.

"A…ni…ki…?" Poor Sasuke was probably mortified.

I laughed into the kiss at Sasuke's reaction and I could feel Itachi smile as well. We parted and I put my hands around his neck.

"I'm perfectly fine, and by the way….loved the 'bimbo' comment. If it wouldn't have hurt so much at the time, I would have laughed my ass off. But you need to apologize to Karin."

"Forgive me, Karin and thank you." He told her with a slight smile on his lips.

"Yeah…" Karin started "About that…I know how you can make it up to me. I want a black crow!" She finished looking at a very dumbstruck Itachi.

"Hey! What about me?" Sakura said. "I healed her too!"

"Hn" Itachi responded snapping out of his daze and realizing that Karin had actually had made a joke.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura finished screaming.

"Hey, you guys. Stop that!" Kakashi told them.

"Umm…"I said looking around the room "Where are Suigetsu and Juugo?" I asked, my inquiry being 'rewarded' with only silence and a few bowed heads. I understood. They didn't make it.

"I'm being summoned back to the Five Kage meeting place. Naruto, you need to get back to the island with Bee-sama and the others to continue researching the fauna and continue your training. Sakura, you come with me." Kakashi broke the awkward silence.

"Sakura stays." I stated plainly.

All eyes were turned to me. Sakura was glaring. She probably thought I was going to kidnap her or something.

"She can't stay with you." Kakashi countered.

"Yes she can. Tell everybody she's on a top secret mission or something. Anything."

Kakashi sighed… "Fine" He said an disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"What?" The pink haired kunoichi said panicked. "What the hell? I need to be out there I need…"

"Sakura!" Sasuke said glaring at her. "Trust us."

"Trust you? Trust YOU? YOU tried to kill me Sasuke! On several occasions! And you want me to trust you?"

Sasuke, whom had his eyes closed while Sakura was yelling, opened his eyes slowly, and fixed her with a stern look.

"Yes" He told her simply, leaving her dumbstruck.

"Now listen Sakura." I started trying to sort thing out. "You need to understand that you can doo much more from here than if you were out there."

"Who are you anyway?"

"Jessica Kristina Bannon. Or you may know me by the name of Jessica Sasaki."

"Sasaki? Like the Sasaki clan?"

"Yes."

"So you're the one that's been causing all that commotion back in Konoha."

"Guess I'm already famous."

"That you are. The Daimyo trusts you so much it scares the rest of the shinobi. Why?"

"Precognition." I told her the truth.

"You mean?"

"Yup! You're looking at a clairvoyant."

"Clairvoyant? Are you really?"

"In the flesh."

"And how…"

"Did I survive all this time with Akatsuki? I'm still a Sasaki you know…We're known and feared for our skill and fearlessness in battle. And Akatsuki wanted me to trust them and help them with the war so they trained me…big mistake…on their behalf."

"Not that big…if I may say so myself" A deep voice rang from upstairs.

"Ma-Ma- Ma-Ma…"

"Madara." I finished for the stuttering Sakura. "Yeah…He'll be working with us."

"What? You can't possibly expect me to ally myself with the man that has caused so much destruction and pain!"

"Actually that's exactly what I'm asking you to do. But Sakura." I said taking her hand in mine as a pleading gesture. "I'm not asking you to trust him, or Sasuke, or anyone for that matter. But look at me and look closely. Do I look like someone who would want to destroy the only home I have left?"

And she did. What she probably saw in my eyes made her stern look soften, but before she could respond Naruto, whom had been standing idle until now, protested loudly.

"That has to be the biggest load of crap ever! You think I will just let Sakura-chan stay with you and that…that…monster?" he pointed towards Madara who was now leisurely descending the stairs to where we were.

"No Naruto-san, you are not leaving her with us because we are coming with you."

"Excuse me?"

"This place isn't safe anymore. We will be scouted for, and we cannot risk staying here any longer. If you wish to do something about the upcoming war, Naruto, you will not protest and you _will_ lend us a hand, because this is the only way we will be able to stop it."

His expression changed. He seamed to be battling with himself. It seamed to me like an eternity before he nodded. I felt like jumping out in glee, but I kept my calm.

* * *

We were transported to the illusive island inside a frog's belly, which Naruto had skillfully summoned. There, we met Yamato, the Mōkuton user, some jocks that were there for the Jinchiurinki protection and of course Killer Bee, the Raikage's brother. Bee-san, of course, decided to try and attack Kisame the second he saw him, we barely managed to stop him and keep our heads attached at the same time. We explained to him and the others what was going on…well more like I explained…again, and so the waters calmed down so to speak. I finally had time to sit down and light a much needed cigarette.

The island was beautiful in it's own way. It had a rocky landscape but life could be found everywhere if you looked close enough. The place we were in was not the island surface, but more of a gigantic cave inside the island. Surprisingly, trees were growing inside as well. Naruto had started his research again and was thoroughly occupied with finding out the gender of a giant armadillo, which was rolled into a ball making it impossible to tell the difference. Bee was trying to "call it a girl and call it a day" as he put it… God, the man was disturbing. Don't get me wrong…he was a nice, fun guy, but he rapped constantly…it wouldn't have annoyed me that much if he didn't SUCK AT IT SO BAD…I mean…he was worse than Chingy for fuck's sake! I barely had time to drag three times from my cigarette when Yamato called Madara, and I to a place more secluded from the rest of the team.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you need to hear this. The war has, in a way, already begun."

Now that took both Madara and I by surprise. Yamato briefed us on the situation at hand. The island was actually a Mega-Tortoise which was now moving to a safe place, Kabuto was now a second Orochimaru who was using Edo Tensei (Impure World Summoning Technique) to bring back every and any significant person that Naruto and I encountered along the "road of life" and was supposed to be dead, like the dead Akatsuki members, Asuma, a pair of rogue ninjas: Zabuza and Haku and about anyone who had a Kekegenkai, and we were about to be attacked by Deidara. The five Kages were already in a meeting in a secret place, and so were the Daimyos, an army was already prepared made up of all the shinobis of the five lands. And above that…we were screwed. Oh…and Naruto had no idea what was going on, and we were asked to keep him in the dark. Ummm…Yeah…that about sums it up…Oh!...And did I mention we were about to be attacked by Deidara?

Madara left to tell the others, which left me with my last two drags of my cigarette and a very worried Yamato.

"And what are we gonna do about the dead half-wit bomb addict?" I asked Yamato.

"No idea…Fight…I believe."

"You do realize that the people brought back with Edo Tensei cannot be killed unless we free or seal their souls…right?"

"Yes…"

"And?"

"…"

"Great…"

It sucked cock…the whole situation SUCKED COCK! This was worse than I could have ever imagined. I was hoping for at least twenty-four hours of peace before another round of brain-fuck, but noooo… my life just _had_ to make it harder for me. I went to where Itachi, Sasuke, Kisame, Mara and Karin were being briefed.

"…and that's about it." The former Mizukage finished right before I arrived amongst them.

I was exhausted. Physically and mentally. I could not think straight anymore. It all felt like an overwhelming tsunami of information that I was getting, and I could not make sense of it anymore.

"Madara…what do we do?" I asked no looking him in the eye.

"Excuse me? Are you asking _me_ for advice? I thought you were the one with all the answers…"

"I…I don't know…and I never said I had all the answers. I just did what I thought was right."

"Well…since you asked so nicely" He said sarcastically "I can tell you what I know. There is no way to stop Edo Tensei just like that..."

"What?" Mara said petrified.

"But…" The old Uchiha continued "There are ways to stop it. We need to find the caster of the jutsu and force him to end it or we can just try and release the soul of the said brought back shinobi, or seal them for that matter. Killing the caster will not end the jutsu."

"And how can we…"

I could not finish what I wanted to ask because I was interrupted by a sort of earth quake. Before I, or anyone for that matter, managed to get on our feet, the ground shook again. This time with so much force that the ground and ceiling switched places. The tortoise must have been struck with so much force that it flipped over. I rushed outside the cave to see what was going on. There was something suspicious about this. I knew Deidara was strong but I did not think he would use an explosive so big as to flip a whole island, especially from the first two minutes of the fight.

Finally exiting the tortoise's shell, my suspicions were proved correct. On top of the clay bird Deidara was flying, behind the blond pyromaniac, stood Kabuto…whom, now, suspiciously looked more like Orochimaru.

I noticed something colossal moving beneath the surface of the water. Itachi, Sasuke, Kisame and Madara had followed me and were now standing beside me.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"Kabuto!" I shrieked "And something in the water! Something big!"

Right after I finished my sentence a gigantic snake rose out of the water.

"Manda?" Sasuke questioned perplexed "But it's mush bigger, and as far as I recall the original Manda is dead. It must me another version." He clarified.

In an instant, as we watched our foes fly above the island, a three cell team flew at lightning speed toward the enemies, and landed a strong punch on Kabuto…whom did not seem as phased as I would have expected after such a strong blow. The cell was formed of a very short old man, a young woman and a shinobi who looked like he mastered in eating…

"The Tsuchikage, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki." Kisame informed us. "The girl is his niece, Kurotsuchi and the other is Akatsuchi, his right hand man."

Deidara was originally from Iwagakure so it was not much of a surprise that the Tsuchikage and him seemed like they knew each other. That was a good thing considering the fact that Deidara's attention was now diverted from ourselves.

I looked around. I had to find something to use to our advantage. Shit…all I could see was water and the poor flipped tortoise we were standing on…Oh! That's it! Water. I could use water. As far as I remembered Deidara's boom boom jutsu was Doton based, so he was weak against Raiton. Sasuke's Kirin was a very strong Raiton attack that Deidara did not know about.

"Sasuke…do you think you can use Kirin to stun him?"

"I could, but the idea is out of the question. There isn't cloud in the sky. There's nothing for me to work with."

I looked around again. This was NOT a good angle to do what I wanted to do.

"Can I borrow an Eagle?"

"What are you thinking?" The youngest Uchiha said biting his finger and doing a Kuchiose.

"No time to explain." I said climbing on top of the newly summoned Eagle. "You just do a Kirin and make sure you don't miss. And figure out a way to stop the dead moron before he blows everything up."

With that I whispered to the big bird to go up. It climbed fast. I told it to go as high up as it could above the water and then disappear. I closed my eyes and did the necessary hand seals. The eagle let me know when we were high enough and vanished into a puff of white smoke. I opened my eyes and muttered: Amaterasu.

If I would have tried to burn Deidara with it, something might had gone wrong: Like the island would be set on fire. A moving target engulfed by black flames was not a good idea. That left me with only one option. Burn the water around the island, evaporate it and make a big thundercloud that Sasuke could use to make Kirin. I avoided the island as well as I could. Through my right eye I could barely see Yamato come out of the tortoise's shell just in time to start a fight with Kabuto, whom was now transformed into a giant white snake…suspiciously like Orochimaru. The Mega Tortoise had managed to now flip itself right side up.

I was falling fast. The wind hurt my eyes, but it looked like the idea was working. I could not see the sea or anything for that matter due to the black cloud I had now entered. I was confused and I panicked a bit not knowing how much I had until I would hit the water and the black fames of my own Amaterasu so I stopped the jutsu.

A couple of fractions of a second later the contours of the battle field came into sight. It was much closer that I had expected, I barely managed to clear a bit of flames from a small portion of water just where I would land.

The water was cold, and because the height of my descent I was pretty deep. Luckily I didn't pass out because I dived head first, diminishing the impact. I tried to swim up. I felt like my lungs were going to burst from the pressure and I was going to drown. Something nudged my leg. It was a shark. I panicked and almost swallowed some water before I realized it was not going to attack me. Then I noticed it was standing near me as if waiting for something. I grabbed onto his top fin and he swam off with me to the surface where I landed, and it was safe for me to take a breath of much needed air. We sunk below the surface once again after that, and swam beneath the black flames to shore, where Kiasme was waiting to pull me out of the water.

"Thanks." I told him as I started couching some salty water I did not ever realize I had swallowed.

"Nice move…and STUPID! You could have died."

"I didn't though" I told him right before he smacked me upside the head. "Ouch!"

"Itachi sealed Deidara's soul with Totsuka no Tsurugi right after Sasuke hit him with Kirin. But bad news. Yamato got captured and Kabuto got away with him."

"Shit!"

"Indeed."

"Where are the others?"

"Inside with the Tsuchikage and his teem."

"But what's Naruto gonna say?"

"He's in training with Bee. He won't notice a thing."

Kisame took me in his arms and carried e inside where there was a lot of shouting going on. Most of the noise came from the old Kage Ōnoki-sama and his niece.

"I can't believe this!" He said "The most notorious Ninja in the Five Great Shinobi Nations and you let them get Yamato? Do you have any idea how much information, VALUABLE information they could get out of him?"

Kisame set me down next to Itachi, who was sitting down next to Sasuke. They both seamed exhausted from using such strong techniques. Itachi was looking at the Tsuchikage but his hand was searching for my own. When he found it he squeezed to let me know he was happy I was fine and then squeezed a little harder to the point of his grip being a bit discomforting to let me know he's not happy with how I put myself in danger. After his grip lightened I gently tightened my grip as if to say 'I'm sorry' and we stayed like that, holding hands, for the rest of the discussion.

"Why would Kabuto be interested in Yamato?" the Kage's niece, Kurotsuchi, asked.

"It's obvious Kurotsuchi-san" her grandfather responded "He has been the Kyuubi's guardian for a long time. He could give them valuable information about the Jinchiurinki"

"I do not think that is the only reason" Madara spoke up. "Before my sudden… 'change of heart' I was planning on an invasion. I used Zetsu's DNA to make more white Zetsus. They are linked to a sort of organism, almost like a tree made out of Hashirama Senju's DNA. They can be controlled in that way. I have reason to believe that Kabuto has found out about my plans and he means to use Yamato as a strengthener for this jutsu. Yamato, being a Mōkuton user, if merged with the main organism could make the Zetsus even stronger."

There was silence. A terrifying silence. What this man was capable of…it scared us to the bone.

"And so…" Itachi broke the silence in a stern tone "How many of they are there."

"About a _hundred thousand_."


	15. The Keges, Kabuto and MOM?

**Hey guys! I'm back and i will be updating slow again because of my master's exams. Only 5 this time so wish me luck. I really hope you like my story and here's another chapter for you.**

**R&R...You know the drill **

* * *

My brain was on haywire. 'A hundred thousand' he said? That's more than an army…That's more than TEN FUCKING ARMIES. How were we ever going to win against this…this…calamity?

"I do not believe he will use the army now." Madara continued. "If my presumption is correct, then he will use it a month before the last planetary alignment, to keep the nations occupied with the war and not himself."

"So we do have a chance" Ōnoki-sama stated.

The adrenalin in my blood had subsided a bit from the initial shock that came with Madara's statement and I got to look around a bit. All of them were scared. Even Madara had an air of uneasiness around him. Sasuke and Itachi were still exhausted and I was sitting on the ground next to Itachi's chair, still holding his hand. Mara still had a few cuts and bruises from the previous battle at Nisshoku shrine; Karin was ok as far as I could tell. Kisame had his left arm bandaged, Itachi was fine with the exception of a few scrapes, Sasuke seamed ok as well, and Madara looked untouched and almost unfazed by all that was happening, but if I knew one thing for sure was that he was not ok with the current situation. He was Sharinganless, and that mattered the world. He was far from defenseless but he was severely weakened.

Sakura stood a few feet away from the little gathering but was listening none the less. I didn't know how exactly to explain everything to her and how to make her believe that what we were saying was the truth. I knew she didn't hate me but she didn't like me either…so much for trusting me.

I took a few seconds to look at my two girl-friends. Mara…she was tall, about one meter and eighty centimeters, short brown hair and her skin had an olive tint. Her legs were the longest I had seen in my entire life and the whole attire paced together with a slender form and a pair of A cup breasts...overall she was a sexy kunoichi if I may say so myself.

Karin on the other hand was a short person. At only one meter and fifty nine centimeters she was a bit shorter than even me. Brown eyes, a full mass of straight brown hair that almost reached her waist. Her body was well proportioned even though she told me she thinks her ass is too big…from my point of view…it looks good…I believe it goes with her B cup breasts in a very feminine matter. But the most interesting thing about Karin is her eyes. Those eyes are the most calm and kind eyes I know I will ever meet…ever. Whenever I look into her hazel eyes I feel at peace…I feel like all the burdens on my shoulders have been lifted.

I still cannot believe that these two girls actually agreed to helping me unconditionally. Well now, it's not like they have much of a choice anymore. There is no way out of this unless we finish what we started.

"I'm going back to the Kage meeting" Ōnoki-sama said "I need to relay everything to the others."

"Who's Hokage?" I asked directly.

Ōnoki-sama turned toward me "You say you are from Konoha and you don't know even that?" he asked me.

I presume he did not know of Tsunade's coma nor the ordeal with Danzo, so I kept quiet and waited for the answer.

"Tsunade Senju" he finally answered.

"You could come with me to the meeting. I need to talk to her anyway."

"Ha! You actually believe that you can get there faster than I?" he said superiorly "Anyone who is not a Kage is banned from entering anyway, so, save your breath!" He turned and walked away.

"See you there, Tsuchikage-sama…" I muttered as he left.

"You don't actually plan on going there do you?" Sasuke asked me.

"Well you crashed the first party…it's my turn to crash the second" I said smiling.

It probably wasn't the best joke I could muster but it would have to do for my half numb synapses were not cooperating with me right now. I needed to sleep and to eat, but I could not waist precious brain matter thinking about that. I had to get some answers and some advice. I ran at civilian speed toward the forest from where I would disappear. I usually did that in front of the "gang" but this time there were some other shinobi I did not know so I didn't want to divulge that fact to them. Before I could reach a spot where I would not be seen, my head collided with something hard…very hard. When I looked up, there stood Madara, right in front of me, smirk plastered on his face and all. He took advantage of the fact that I was running with my eyes on the ground and outrun me. But the fact that infuriated me most was that he still held _that skill_.

"You can still change your body's density."

"Oh? You figured it out?"

"It wasn't much to figure out. My kunai went right through you and then the next time you hit me it felt like your hand was made from steel. And not to mention you stopped Suigetsu's mega sword with your bare hand."

"I'm impressed."

"Stop pulling my leg. What do you want?"

"Not much…just tell Tsunade I said 'hi'."

"Like that would ever happen."

With the risk of depleting a whole lot of the few chakra I had left after using Amaterasu so much I had to do this. I activated my Jagan and scanned for the meeting places of the Kages and Daimyos. It took less time than expected. They were in Cloud and we were quite near.

"Well…see you later Madara." I said as I activated my Mangekyo and teleported to my destination, but before I left, I took my sweet second to smirk at him. I probably pissed him off big time, and I was up for a big chunk of ass whooping when I got back but I just couldn't help it.

* * *

I appeared in the shadows behind one of the pillars in the Kage meeting room. As I suspected Ōnoki-sama had not arrived yet. It took the other Kages about…what?...three seconds to sense me, even though I was concealing my chakra.

"Who are you?" A, the Raikage bellowed standing up furiously.(AN: For those of you who don't know, 'A' is actually the Raikage's real name).

"How did you get in here?" Terumi Mei, the current Mizukage asked crossing her hands underneath her large breasts.

"Sasaki Jessica." I said, wasting no time with my current name: Bannon.

"You!" Tsunade stood up. She was furious. "You're the one causing all that commotion! Kakashi told me about you. The Daimyo speaks of you with high words. How is that possible?"

I was glad to see that Tsunade finally woke up from the coma. It would make things much easier for me.

"I don't exactly know how he trusts me so much without ever even seen me but I don't think I want to ask questions about that just yet, 'couse I'm not complaining. Have you been briefed?"

"About?" The blond Hokage asked me.

"Guess not…since Ōnoki-sama isn't here yet."

"Ōnoki-sama? Wasn't he on the moving island?"

"He left just before I did."

"You were there? On the island?"

"Yes. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Sasuke,Kensei Mara, Matsuri Karin and Uchiha Madara are still there with Uzumaki Naruto, Killer Bee-sama and another two shinobi I do not know the names of." Tsunade's and every Kage's eyes widened at the line of names I had provided. "Yeah…I know…merry bunch, aren't they?"

"Madara's with _you_?"

"Yes… and he's been causing me migraines and acting like a complete ass to me, basically making my life living hell for the past year or so… I think it's time for you to raise a question mark."

"Like what exactly?"

"Did he really loose the fight with Hashirama-sama or did it turn out exactly as he planed it? Everyone thought he was dead but he could run everything from the shadows…like he did with Yagura-sama." I said looking at Terumi-sama.

The whole bunch was stunned at my words.

"But he should be like what… a hundred and twenty by now?" Tsunade carried on.

"I assure you, he still looks thirty or so…though he insists he looks twenty four still."

"Genjutsu?"

"Definitely not. I would have see through it no matter how powerful it was."

"So it's true!" The Raikage said. "You do poses the Jagan!"

"Yes. And to continue the discussion we were having, I doubt it's ninjutsu either. The jutsu should have crashed when Sasaki Adrian stole his Sharingan."

"Seems there is much we do not know." A boy with dark circles under his eyes stated calmly. The Kazekage. Sabaku no Gaara.

I relayed to them everything I had been through. Ōnoki-sama had entered the meeting two minutes into my story stunned by my speed of arrival. I just told him that he should just listen because everything will be explained. And I did. I told them everything I knew.

"So they have Yamato. That is bad on very many levels." Gaara stated.

"I know that…" I said bowing my head.

"You did good none the less." Mei-sama told me putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to tell the Daimyos you're here." Ōnoki-sama told me "Some of them might like a word with you"

"Tsuchikage-sama. Please…don't make me tell that story again…it probably would be the tenth time now and…"

"I'll brief them on the way here."

"Thank you." I said smiling warmly as he left.

"Well congratulations…" Tsunade told me "You managed to put the entire five shinobi nations on alert: two of my best fighters disappearing, the Daimyo telling us it's ok…"

"I just want to go back home…to Konoha." I said in a weak voice.

"I can't believe you did all that." Mei-sama continued "and put up with Hoshigaki"

"Kisame? 'put up'? You have got to be kidding me? He's quite the guy you know…If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have gotten out of this sane…or alive for that matter. He saved my life more times than I can count."

Mei opened her mouth to protest but she was interrupted by the large doors of the meeting room being swung open and the five Daimyos entering followed by Ōnoki-sama and…

"Mother?"

There she was. Reddish-bond, shoulder length hair, slim figure but still caressed by age. She held up like nobility. Her brown eyes sparkled when she saw me, a smile caressing her face. She had her arm opened advancing toward me. Misuka Chise , my mother.

"How dare you?" I harshly told her stopping her in her tracks.

"Jessie…I…"

"No! I don't want to hear it! 'It was all for your protection', 'We love you so much!', 'We were just keeping you safe', safe and ignorant, yeah shelter me from pain, the truth and choice!" I yelled. She bowed her head in defeat. "So _you_ were the reason Daimyo-sama trusted me. You explained to him what was going on."

"Yes…" she said weakly.

"Well…for that…I thank you. For the rest…this time…I will NOT forget." I scolded her. She needed to see how I felt about all that…about all the lies.

"Jessie-san" The Fire-land Daimyo spoke to me. "I understand your feelings but you cannot hate her for this." He was a very noble looking man in his late sixties he seamed quite kind for his hierarchical position.

"I don't hate her" I told him sincerely. "I'm just mad…" I trailed off. "And if I may ask for your permission, I would like to discuss a more important matter."

"Ah…yes…as we understood" he said gesturing toward the other Daimyos "one of the very important shinobi of Konoha, has been captured and could relay valuable information to the enemy."

"Yes. It is true. It happened before my eyes" Or maybe eye… "But I have reason to believe that he will not be interrogated right now. We may still have a chance of saving him, without the action being a liability."

"Oh?" the Daimyo inquired "And how do you propose on doing so?"

"Well…do any of you have a flying Kuchiose?" I asked the Kages.

I was reworded with silence and a few stunned looks.

"You survived all this time without being able to summon…anything?" the Raikage said almost mortified.

"Umm... Kinna yeah...I'm not as strong as you think I am... I can't heal a single scrape either... guess I've been blessed with a lot of sheer dumb luck" I said smiling sheepishly "Kisame can heal though. He's pretty good at it considering he did not undergo any kind of training in that field."

The Kages looked at me bewildered. "Well I'll be…" Tsunade said.

"Hey! I'm still a Sasaki you know?"

"You could fly with me on my sand." Gaara tried to propose.

"Out of the question! You are needed here and besides…it would take too much time."

"Jessie." Mother said "I know I'm not a shinobi, but I picked up some things from you father's friends and their wives." She told me cutting her finger with a knife, a droplet of blood coming into view.

"Kuchiose no Jutsu" she said a four meter tall owl appeared next to her. It was grayish-brown with black portions here and there.

"This is Chisako. Chisako, meet my daughter Jessie."

"An OWL? You do realize it's DAYTIME, RIGHT?"

"I'm sorry Jessie but this is the best I can do…"

"Why don't you ask Sasuke for an Eagle again?" Ōnoki-sama proposed.

"Are you insane" I said laughing "Both him and Itachi would tie me down to a tree considering what I did last time."

"I'm sorry I can't summon on a more 'Akatsuki' like level" Mom said sarcastically.

"Ouch! Fine…" I said sighing "I've worked with worse situations."

"I resent that!" The Owl said "I'll have you know that we are still birds of pray with extraordinary night vision and strong talons and beaks."

"Great! You have an attitude. Just to let you know, you are right…NIGHT vision. It's day outside." I sighed again "Guess we'll just have to wait out the night time"

"Humph!" Chisako huffed and turned her head at 180˚ away from me.

"Come on…" I told the owl as I proceeded in climbing onto it.

"I'm not helping!"

"The future of the world rests on your wings and you say you're not helping?"

"Ok, fine. How do we get out?"

"Just fly toward the wall" I told it.

"Are you INSANE? Do you want to give me a concussion?"

"Trust me. You wont get hurt."

"If you say so…But if I hit my head against that wall I'm gonna…"

"YOU WON'T. Just do it already."

"Fine"

Chisako flew toward the wall just like I told her as I activated my Mangekyo and teleported us on the outskirts of Kumogakure, at the base of the mountains, where a bit of forest could be found, to provide us some shade.

"AAAhhhhh! The light! It's blinding me! I knew you wanted to hurt me! I won't tell you anything I know!" The bird started yelling.

"Just shut up and land some ware shady!" I told her trying to hold on, which she was making quite difficult with all the thrashing.

As she landed, I told her we were going to wait for nightfall so we would not be at a disadvantage.

We were standing under a very large oak tree with thick foliage. Chisako had closed her eyes and was proceeding in falling asleep.

"You know, You are the most thinnest kunoichi I had ever seen." She told me sleepily

"I'm not actually a kunoichi."

"Well, you look like a shinobi, you talk like a shinobi and you defiantly act like a shino…" the bird trailed off as it fell asleep. I snuggled into her thick plumage thinking about her earlier statement 'the thinnest…' I haven't taken a look in the mirror for more than a week…and last time I checked I had lost about three kilograms in weight, and at the time, I was eating regularly…and travelling less…I probably looked pretty sickly…I thought as sleep overtook me.

* * *

Unbeknownst to me, in the Kages meeting room the conversation went on for a bit longer.

"She's actually a real shinobi now…" Chise trailed off.

"Don't worry…She'll eventually forgive you." Mei told her kindly.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I know she will forgive me, but I'm afraid that now I will not be able to keep her safe from what she will _have_ to do. And she will not forget. Not anymore…"

_

* * *

A man. In the shadows, facing me. I could not see his face though. He radiated incredible power. His hair was long and spiky flowing backwards._ _He wore what appeared to be a cloak with a high open collar, showing his necklace with six red magatama. He seemed to have had horns on his forehead; this could have been a hitai-ate, or it might have been part of his hairstyle._

I woke up startled. The words 'Shinobi no Kami' came to my mind. I don't know why. Another dream. How strange, this one was nothing like the others.

It was night outside. Chisako was already awake and scanning the night with her bright black eyes. I knew I had lost precious time in which Yamato might have been tortured, but I could not risk going in 'for the rescue' in daytime with an owl…_that_ had its disadvantages, and getting myself killed would not do any good. I had to devise a plan, without one, this could end badly. I was at night eight per cent chakra so I believe I had enough. I activated my Jagan and started looking for Kabuto Yakushi.

I found him within ten minutes of searching in the northern part of a piece of neutral land situated between Takigakure on the west and Otogakure on the est. the base was in the middle of a forest, and was surrounded by white Zetsus. This was going to be a pain.

"Chisako!" I said opening my eyes.

"Yes…"

"This is going to be an in and out mission. We have to undergo as less fighting as possible. I'm not strong enough to face the enemy and win."

"NOW YOU TELL ME YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH?"

"I never said I was 'Wonder Woman'! Now come on. Are you with me or do I have to pull out the prisoner myself?"

"Fine! Fine! I'm with you. Where are we going?"

"Leave that up to me. You concentrate on this: I'm going to teleport us to a place inside a forest. There, you will see something like a gigantic white tree with two torsos sticking out. We need to get the one that looks more human. He is at the bottom facing the sky. He's wearing regular ANBU clothes, but his hitai-ate is different; it protects his face as well as framing the sides of his face. That person is Yamato-san. The one we need to rescue."

"Yosh! I'm ready" Chisako said.

"Good…"

I climbed onto the owl and she took flight. Her soft feathers made no sound against the friction of the wind. She was such a stealthy creature. I activated Mangekyo and teleported us above the scene. Kabuto was standing in a circle of some strange glyphs. It was Ninjutsu or more like Kinjutsu. He was controlling Edo Tensei. He was concentrated with the task at hand. That gave us the advantage. Also there was no moon out, it was covered by clouds, so all that was left was pitch black. I kept Mangekyo activated to read the chakra signatures below. The zone was clear, the Zetsus encircling it at a farther distance than I priory anticipated. That also meant that Kabuto might be much stronger than I first thought as well, since he did not need any protection.

Chisako and I circled the aria a few times. I switched to Jagan to be able to find a fast and clear path for us to descent straight to Yamato. I found it. A straight sort of tunnel made by trunks of trees and their foliage above. We could descend in a blind spot and exit exactly next to the prisoner. The descent was fast and the ride inside the tunnel even faster. My eyes were tearing up, and if I would not have used chakra to hold on to the owl I would have surely fallen.

She stopped right next to Yamato. Kabuto spotted us right away and sent some snakes in our direction.

"I'll buy you some time." I told her "You try to pry him out of there."

I unsheathed Sou'Unga and started to fight. I was right. All I could do was buy some time. I could not even advance to be able to reach Kabuto. If I teleported, that would have left Chisako open and now all I could do was cut the snakes that were attacking us, but no matter how many heads I cut, more just kept coming.

Chisako had Yamato by the shoulders with her talons and was flapping her wings desperately, but he would not budge. We were kind of screwed. Of course we were! I thought as a large snake managed to insert it's fangs into my shoulder. Shit! I should have thought this through more! I should have asked Madara how to detach someone from this Hashirama DNA-pillar. I should have done a lot of things prior to this but I did not, and now I had to work with the situation at hand because I was not going to die by the hand of this bastard and without seeing my home at least once more. The thought that I would rather die by Madara's hand crossed my mind. I don't know why. I shook it off discussed.

I cut the snake's head off and detached it from my person. I shoved Sou'Unga into the pillar with the intention to cut it and set Yamato free, but it gave a sort of moan and let the prisoner go.

Oh My God! This thing was weak against Sou'Unga! I did not have time to elaborate that thought before another snake jumped me and coiled around my body.

"Get him out of here!" I yelled at Chisako, who was now flying high and away.

I was now staring at Kabuto.

"So you're the trouble maker…" He said in a snake like voice, which sounded suspiciously close to Orochimaru's. "Sasaki? You bring shame to the clan's name. I cannot believe that a lowlife like you possesses such a powerful eye technique. But there is only room for one. You will have to die now!"

Die? DIE? I could not die! Not like this! I couldn't die…

"I'm not gonna die you imbecile!" I screamed raising my sword "I can't die A VIRGIN!"

I slashed my sword almost cutting his face. I missed by a quarter of an inch, but I did manage to sever the body of the snake that was incapacitating me.

Kabuto had now jumped back and stood at a distance from me, deciding that long range attacks were better. I sent a wave of Sou'Unga's energy toward the enemy to distance the snakes. I found that they burned black. Kind of like Amaterasu's flames. The sword must have reacted to my anger. Before I could slash into the next attack a felt pain in my shoulder and I noticed t was being dragged off the battle field. Dragged? No…more like flown off. I looked up. Chisako was caring me in her talons.

"Climb up already!" She said.

She let go of one of my arms and I swung up on top of her grabbing onto the owl's body with my chakra. I looked behind us. Snakes. A large cloud of snakes were following us.

"Where's Yamato?" I yelled desperately.

"Right…here!" She said as she grabbed him from the tallest tree with her now free talons.

This was it! We did it! I looked behind again. The snake's numbers grew now and they were getting closer, but it was too late. I smirked as I activated Mangekyo and teleported us to the Tortoise-island. We hit the ground hard, both me and Chisako rolling on the floor a few times before coming to a stop. I landed on my right side. The pain in my shoulder was now back tenfold. I looked at it. Shit! There was still a snake fang inside. How did I not notice that? I pulled it out. It was bony white, long and curved. Typical snake fang, only fifty times bigger.

"HOLY FUCKING CHRIST!"

Sakura was yelling looking at the scene before her. I took a second to see what was going on. They were all staring at us, their mouths agape. Naruto did not even know that Yamato had been kidnapped. He still thought his captain was on the island some ware trapped under the rubble of the 'earthquakes'. They would not let me tell him the truth… I had t speak with _him…_

"I need to talk to…" Darkness.


	16. HOME!

"What happened?"

"I guess she found Yamato…"

"Why is there a snake fang in her shoulder?"

"Poison? What kind?"

"The fang hit an artery"

"Anticoagulant…the wound won't heal easily…"

"Is she gonna be ok?"

"I don't know…"

"We need to flush the poison out so we can heal her."

"Damn it! This isn't working!"

"She's still bleeding!"

"If you don't do something she's gonna bleed to death!"

"WE KNOW!"

"I think I got it"

"Is it working?"

"Don't know"

"Her body was weak to begin with. Why did she do this on her own?"

"She's a RETARD that's why!"

"Wait! It's working…"

"I think she's coming around…"

"Jessie?"

Those are the things I heard as I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I could not even tell who was saying what. The contours of my vision were blurry, so much that I could not tell who was who and the voices were so muffled I could barely decipher what they said. At the sound of my name I could finally distinguish Itachi's voice.

My whole body was in pain. I couldn't even move a finger without discomfort. They were all huddled above my bed. Bed?

"Where am I?" I asked in a groggy voice.

"Kumogakure General Hospital." Yotsuki A said as he entered my hospital room.

"Can you leave her alone now?" Sakura's voice. She entered right behind the Raikage.

They all left. It was weird. They were all in my hospital room: Itachi, Sasuke, Kisame, Karin, Mara, Naruto. Even Madara was here. What the hell had happened?

"Have you ever heard of imbecile actions?" the Raikage asked furiously. "In the matter you were talking, all of the Kages thought you had a plan or something! The fact that you would go in there just like that, without knowing anything…that was pure stupidity."

I was being scolded by one of the most powerful men alive. The one who could break Sasuke's Susanoo's Amaterasu quoted bones with one blow. I was beyond scared. I was terrified.

"Give her a break will you…" Killer Bee's voice rang from the doorway.

Sakura was frowning a bit. She looked tired as she checked my vitals and started to change the bandages to my wound.

"Fine, brother." The Raikage said "Haruno-san, why don't you tell her what's been going on. If I do, I might loose my temper again." And he left. Before Bee-san left after him, he gave me a 'thumbs up' for good measure and smiled. Good, so they weren't as mad at me as I first thought.

"You know…" Sakura started "that was very reckless of you…Going out there all alone." I bowed my head, not having the guts to look her in the eye. "You gave us quite some trouble with healing you." My head was still down, listening to what she said. She continued her 'monologue' "when he saw you, Itachi turned as white as a ghost. We brought you back to the Kage meeting room. All of us left the island, including Naruto and Bee-sama. Even Madara seemed a bit phased by your condition…"

"Well he wouldn't want to lose the only advantage he has over Adrian." I told her.

"Yeah…true…Naruto's not happy about working with him…I don't blame him…none of us are…"

"Well, he _is_ the reason Naruto's parents died…"

"Hmm…" she said thoughtfully.

"Thank you Sakura." I told her finally making eye contact. "I know the first time you saw me, you didn't _want_ to heal me… you are a brilliant medic and I know that you could have handled a gash like that yourself…thank you for helping me then…and now…"

"You know…At first I didn't trust you at all…but…you did prove something by risking your life to bring back Yamato and keep us safe…And you brought back Sasuke…"

"How are they doing?"

"Who?"

"Yamato, Sasuke, Naruto…all of them."

"Well, Naruto and Sasuke are off to a slow start…but they're working on their bonds again…I think their friendship will be fine. Naruto is a bit shook up by what happened. He still doesn't know about the war…" I kept silent, letting her continue. "Yamato's weakened but fine none the less. The poisons Kabuto used on him were only to incapacitate him and suppress his Mōkuton jutsu. The Kumo medics worked on him the entire night to flush out the poison…he'll be back on his feet in a day or so. You on the other hand, are a totally different story. Kabuto tried to kill you. The poison he used was much more dangerous. Both Tsunade-shishou and I worked our asses off to find a cure, but the most work was done my Matsuri-san…she found the antidote."

"Karin? Where is she now? Is she ok?"

"She's just fine…she's sleeping now she hasn't shut an eye fore the last two days worrying about you…not that the others were throwing a party or anything…they were all scared for you." Shit! I had made everyone upset for my sake…that was just stupid of me…maybe I should have told them or something…but I just wanted them safe…

"You know…" Sakura continued as she now laid fresh sterilized bandages on my wound…which looked remarkably good for a poison entry point. "You kind of remind me of Naruto with that…" I snapped my head to look at her, bewildered by what I just heard…

"How's that?" I asked.

"Hihi…" she giggled at my reaction "You make friends in the strangest of places…" She still had a far away look on her face when she finished bandaging me. Then she spoke again "Kisame-san, Itachi-san, Sasuke-kun and Madara-san spoke to the Kages. It was decided that your little merry team will be granted stay inside Konohagakure no sato. At least for the time being. It will be discussed further when the war is ended." She said leaving me with my mouth totally agape.

We were going home…

The next two days I spent mostly sleeping…primarily due to the increased morphine drip that Sakura was 'kind' enough to prescribe (I believe she wanted to make sure I didn't do anything stupid again) and secondly due to the lack of sleep I had endured in the last week or so…unfortunately my sessions of sleep, though many, were dreamless, probably because of the drugs.

A caravan, as Tsunade-sama told me, was being prepared for our departure. With the exception of the Kages, whom will be traveling faster and on their own, the rest of us will be travelling by that said caravan. That included of course Yamato and I who had to be transported in hospital beads, mother, Itachi, Sasuke, Karin, Mara, Kisame, Madara, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-san, Bee-sama, and about twenty other ninjas who were there for escort and protection. But come on…let's face it…the other twenty were there to keep an eye on us in case we decided to betray them because what more protection could we need with all those missing nins and former Akatsuki?

The next day we were already set up on the caravan. Both Yamato and I were transported in single carts pulled by horses. No more than one person was allowed to accompany us at a time. Usually it was Itachi who stayed by my side but he sometimes switched with Karin or Sakura and sometimes Sasuke. I was still sleeping a lot due to the morphine. I only woke up to eat or have short conversation with whoever was with me at the time.

The trip took four days. We arrived in Konoha by noon on the fourth. I was transferred in Konoha hospital immediately after my arrival. Yamato was well enough to be discharged, or so Karin told me.

I was placed in a single salon. It was pretty bleak. White everywhere the room had no personality what so ever. But then again, since when did hospital rooms have any personality? Karin told me that I would have to spend one more week in the hospital and that she would take me off the morphine but I had to stay put and NOT under any circumstances get out of bed. Not that I could anyway. After a couple of hours of being off pain killers I started to feel that my whole body was sore. It hurt everywhere. I couldn't get to my feet even if I wanted to…

Over the last couple of days everything went quite peaceful. Occasionally I could sense different shinobi trying to take a peak through the crack of the hospital door at the 'girl that survived Akatsuki'. Some of them were chunin level, most were genin, but none above those ranks tried to spy on me. Sometimes Itachi came to visit with Sasuke. He usually brought me flowers. He always said I kept looking better and better. On occasion Kisame might sneak inside for a short conversation, even though he wasn't allowed to see me, being from Kirigakure and all… Sakura was my doctor and handled my status, and Karin came once every night to sneak a quick heal on my shoulder. Even though I full out refused her treatment, saying I was ok, she almost knocked me out to be able to do what she wanted. I guess she was worried about me.

On the last day on my stay in the hospital, Yamato paid me a visit. He awkwardly thanked me for saving his life. That made me very happy…to see that he was ok.

"Did Yamato leave?" Sakura asked me as she slid the door to my room open.

"Two minutes ago" I said looking at her from the windowsill on which I was perched up and smoking a cigarette.

"Well…I just wanted to tell you that…HEY! NO SMOKING! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THOSE?" she yelled as she ripped the cigarette from my lips throwing it out the window. "Are you insane? This is a hospital…I can't believe this. You feel a little better and there you are with that little cancer stick in your mouth! You…"

"Ahem…Am I interrupting anything?" A male voice startled us. It was…

"Dad…I mean Race? What are you doing here?" I asked him.

Race was tall at about one meter and eighty three centimeters in height; he had short whitish blond hair and pale blue eyes. Today he was wearing a red shirt and light blue jeans.

"Oh? It's Race now is it? I told her it wouldn't hold out…I told her…she wouldn't believe me…"

"Would you prefer 'Roger?'" I asked him playfully.

"Actually I would prefer it if you called me just like you used to…"

"I'm sorry" I chuckled "I can't do that just yet…but I promise, in due time I will… Oh! By the way…this is my friend Haruno Sakura. Sakura, this is Roger Bannon…my stepfather."

"Nice to meet you sir." She told him.

"A pleasure as well."

"So, Race…" I started "How long have you been here? In Konoha I mean…"

"About a week and a half now."

"And you didn't consider paying me a visit a bit sooner?"

"I've been busy" he said smirking "Come on…get ready and I'll show you."

I went into a changing room and put on the clothes that I had when I was last out of the hospital which consisted of a large black t-shirt a pair of shinobi black trousers and sandals. They were on top of my backpack. Sakura had brought them to the hospital for me.

Race and I exited the hospital after saying our goodbyes and 'thank you'-s to Sakura. We walked through town leisurely. I was taking in the sits. God, how much Konoha had changed and despite that it still remained the same. In the time we strolled, I could hear whispering and gossip. People were looking at me, mostly. I guess word travels fast.

I didn't even realize when we had arrived to the old Uchiha district. I was too busy enjoying the sunlight, but when I got there, a pang of nostalgia hit me. There were few things I remembered from when I was two years old but this one…this one would never go away again…never…

_**I was walking inside the Uchiha district for the first time in my life. Dad had just got a promotion. I was told he would work with the most powerful shinobis of all of Konoha: the Uchihas. The dirt made dry sounds beneath my feet with every step as we entered the district's main road. I was walking beside my mother, on her left, and on her right, my father. A few tens of meters away from us, stood another family. A man, his wife, and to her left stood a small young boy I had seen in my first day of Academy, which was, the day before.**_

"_**I am very pleased to be working with you Fugaku-sama." Adrian said as we reached them. He was addressing the man.**_

"_**As I am to be working with you Sasaki Adrian-sama"**_

_**They exchanged greetings and started a conversation. I was shyly hiding behind my mother's left leg when I noticed the boy staring intently at me. I liked him. He seamed nice. He had a look of kindness to him. That's when I gathered all my courage and came 'out of hiding' advanced toward him and said.**_

"_**I'm Sasaki Jessica. Pleased to meat you." I told him smiling brightly.**_

_**He advanced a step toward me and smiled sweetly. Such a beautiful smile he had. It could make me happy.**_

"_**Uchiha Itachi…nice to meet you…"**_

This is where I first met Itachi…Oh, and how much has happened since then.

We slowly walked through the warm April sun on the roads I knew so well of the Uchiha Compound. I was no longer following Race. My feet were taking me by themselves. I knew exactly where I was going…home…

My old house was still there…and it seamed as if I never left. But…

"How…" I tried asking

"…is it still standing after Pein decided to do his little number on Konoha?" Race finished for me. I turned toward him perplexed. "The jutsu Pein used did not manage to reach the Uchiha Compound. Only the main gates were damaged…but they were repaired." He explained.

"Yo! Princess!" I heard from a distance. As I turned, I saw Kisame waving at me from a small distance away.

"Hey!" I said happily as I ran up to him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great, actually." I said giving him a hug around his middle. He put a hand on my head and grinned.

"Well, _you_ look like a walking nightmare." I heard a voice at my side.

"Madara." I frowned and detached myself from Kisame's person, while looking at my verbal attacker. "I know I look like shit! I'm dressed in the same clothes I almost died in… duh!"

"Sasaki-san!" Who was it now?...Oh!…

"Hokage-sama." I chirped as I saw her walking up to us, followed by Itachi and Sasuke.

"Have you been briefed on the living arrangements?" She continued.

I stared bewildered at her…Unfortunately for me nothing smarter than "Huh? Come again?" escaped my mouth…Smart Jessie, smart…

"The living arrangements." She stated annoyed "Who's living with who."

"No… I can't say I have…"

"Well…Hoshigaki-san will stay with Itachi-san and Sasuke-san, and you will be staying with Madara-san."

"WHAT?" I shouted wearing my epic 'What The Fuck' face. "You CAN'T expect me to live with THAT!" I pointed at the annoyed Uchiha to my left.

"Actually I do, and you will. You and Itachi-san are the ones that had the most experience with him and it is only natural that I would appoint him close to you two."

I thought a bit about arguing that Madara should stay with Itachi but then I remembered that Itachi had Madara breathing down his neck for the last nine years, on opposed to me who only met him last year. "Fine…" I concluded with a sigh.

"Would you like to come into the house now?" Race asked me.

"But…no one has been inside it for over fourteen years…"

"Well 'pumpkin' _that_ was the surprise I was talking about. Your mom and I fixed up the house…it's like new now…and in the time you were in the hospital we helped Itachi-san and Sasuke-san with their house as well."

"Thank you!" I said in a very high and happy tone as I ran up to him and have him a big hug around the neck. I seriously didn't know myself if I was hugging him for fixing up _our_ house or _Itachi's_ house…but I really didn't care much.

"Well I must excuse myself at the moment. I need to go inside and take a looooong bath."

The Hokage chuckled and nodded, Itachi, Sasuke and Kisame smiled, Race said he would walk me to the house as we left and Madara ignored me as he followed inside.

The house was just as I remembered it; save for a couple of extra modern touches Race probably decided to add. I walked around the living room, the kitchen, the two guest bedrooms downstairs, and my father's study. By my father's study I meant Adrian's study. I slid the door open. Everything was just like it used o be. Nothing seamed touched. That fact was clear because of the kilometer of dust that seamed to had piled on top of the old books and scrolls.

"Chise told me not to touch this place. She said you might get some useful information out of these things." Race said from behind me.

"True…" I said. But now I had more important matters to attend to…like…a bath.

Climbing the stairs, and going up to my old bedroom I slid open the door. It even smelled the same… or it could have been just my memory of the smell that I overlapped onto the visual input I was receiving.

The room was pretty large for a child's room, but the house was built by Adrian and my mother's money…which was a lot. The bed was on the far right side of the room right next to the large window. There was a night stand near the bed. On the left side, not much could be found, except for a large dresser and on the opposite wall, a small bookshelf; if you advanced a bit, you could see, on the far left, hidden at first sight another portion of the room. It was like a small hall facing another window where you could find a desk and my laptop (I believe Race was kind enough to bring it for me), and on the right side of the hall there was another door. That one led to my bathroom. My wonderful bathroom. I opened the door. It was simple with beige and brown tiles, the same colors that adorned my room as well, a sink to the left, two cupboards to the right and a bathtub next to the wall opposite to the door.

I turned the tap for the tub. Thank GOD we still had hot water! I let it fill as I stripped and prepared for what would be one of the best moments since I got back.

Before I entered the tub, I looked in the large mirror right above my sink…Holy Fuck…I looked like a corpse. My next mission would be GAIN WEIGHT! About five or six kilograms would do…but fuck…my eyes were adorned by purple circles and bones were sticking out of all the wrong places. Note to self: for the next week…baggy clothes and makeup.

I finally entered the bath and I felt like I had reached heaven. That is it…I'm not going to exit this house for the next week. I, under any circumstances, do NOT want to see anyone…not even Itachi…well maybe _I_ wanna see Itachi, but I don't want _him_ to see me like this anymore…when he sees me next time, I will be a vision of beauty….I burst out laughing to myself…I am going to exit the house, I am going to see everyone, and I am going to let Itachi see me…even if I look so skeleton…ish… I briefly remembered the way I acted toward Madara this past week…I burst out laughing again since I had a flash of a twig scolding a mighty Oak tree.

I soaked in the hot water for about fifteen minutes. It felt…it felt…fuck…I have no words to describe how it felt after so much time of being deprived such luxury. It was wonderful… it was heavenly… it was… OH FUCK NO! FUCK NO! NO!... I felt it…that chakra…he wasn't even concealing it…that chakra that felt like a thousand fingernail scratching on a thousand blackboards for a thousand years…Madara's chakra. He had entered my room…and any moment now…wait for it…wait for it…

"Are you feeling better?" BAM! There he is…

"Do you get a sense of twisted sick pleasure in mentally fucking with me?"

"What on earth would you mean by that?" He said plastering a mock hurt expression while advancing toward the tub.

Yes, I was naked…yes, I felt vulnerable, but above all I felt PISSED!

"Madara sincerely…I look like a fucking walking skeleton! I'm tired, and unfed and you can't possibly get a boner out of this. So please, please leave me be…just for a couple of days."

"But Tobi gets lonely!" He said starting to awkwardly thrash his arms around.

"Get out…That was so wrong" I said hiding my eyes from the scaring sight.

He started laughing…no, not the evil maniac laugh…no…a normal 'I find this truly funny' kind of laugh, and left me at peace with my bath, closing the door behind him.

I was still in shock after he left, weather it was from his 'Tobi' outburst or from the fact that he actually laughed I do not know, but I blankly stared at the closed door for a couple of more seconds before I shook my head an proceeded in thoroughly cleaning myself.

When I exited the bath, I walked over to my bed. I pulled the curtains closed and removed my towel. I put on a set of white undergarments and opened the dresser, and…Fuck me sideways! I had clothes…and a lot of them.

"CLOOOOOOOOTHES!" I yelled in sheer happiness as I put on a simple pair of jeans and a baggy t-shirt.

"What's wrong" my mother burst in with a worried expression.

"Oh…nothing" I said smiling "I have clothes!" I told her with a big smile while lifting up a random shirt "you know clothes…like a lot of clothes that I can change into…"

My mother's expression did not flatter from worried…what's worse it seamed like it changed into a sad-worried one…and before I knew it she burst into tears.

"What have you been through?" she asked between sobs.

"Shit! Mom…don't…don't cry…I'm fine…I'm ok" I tried consoling her. I was supposed to be mad at her…fuck it. I walked up and took her in my arms. She was always one to exaggerate and I was always her whole world. I pulled her crying figure and we sat on the bed.

"Mom…" I started "I've been to Hell and back. It was awful, it was terrifying and it was hard…but I would do it over and over again" I said standing up and walking to the window, her tear-filed eyes following me. "I would do it again and again if it means I get to stay with him" as I said that I pulled the curtains open to make my point…for her to know I was talking about Uchiha Itachi. But after I pulled the curtains open, my mom's face became stunned, so I turned toward the window to see what was wrong. Itachi was there…in a towel.

"YEEEEEP!" I shrieked and pulled them closed again. "Shit! You…you get what I mean…" I stuttered trying to finish my prior speech, but before I could apologize for what she had to see, she burst out laughing.

"I'm glad you haven't changed that much" she told me, her eyes still wet but at least she wasn't sad anymore. I smiled sheepishly as she got up, kissed me on the forehead and told me that lunch will be in an hour.

I slumped on the bead. Nice going Jessie! I just showed a sixty percent NAKED Itachi to my mother…way to start a relationship…talk about 'meet the parents'…

CLICK…What the fuck?...CLICK…there it is again…CLICK…what the hell is going on? It's coming from the window…OMG IT'S ATTACK OF THE MINI MARTIANS!

I went to the window and carefully pried the curtains open again…oh…no Martians…just Itachi…and a bunch of small stones…and this time he was wearing clothes…damn.

I opened the window. He was leaning over his widow frame with a bunch of pebbles in hand smirking.

"Hey…" I told him

"Hi."

"Um…come in." I moved over so he could jump, and he did, gracefully landing on my window frame and silently putting a leg on my light beige carpet as he descended. He was wearing black t-shirt and a pair of beige capris, and socks…and no shoes…

"Sorry bout that…I didn't mean…you know" I was flustered "I didn't know you were…"

"It's ok. It's my fault. I should have pulled the curtains"

"…" true "That's right! It's your fault" I said laughing.

"What?" he now adorned a stunned expression, which, in turn made me laugh harder, all awkwardness forgotten.

"Hey!" I said calming from my fit of laughter "Put some shoes on and come help us with lunch. Tell Sasuke and Kisame to come to. You three are eating with us"

"Yes m'am." He said mocking me, but before he could climb out the window to do what I had told him, I encircled my arms around his waist placing my cheek on his back, effectively hugging him.

"I missed you lots." I said, my voice muffled by his shirt.

"I missed you too" he said turning around, I myself giving him some slack to do so.

I was looking up at him and he was looking down to me, we were so close again, our lips were centimeters apart again…we were gonna…

"Jessie! Come help your mother with the table!" I heard Race yell from downstairs…and the moment was ruined.

"I better go put some shoes on…" he almost whispered to me.

"Yeah…" I said letting him go. He climbed up he window jumping back in his room. I turned and headed downstairs to help my parents.


	17. BBQ and spars

**Hey guys! YES! I'm alive again. Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I had a major writer's block combined with master's exams and a nice trip to Holland and Germany. And a visit from my German boyfriend and lot of other thing I wish not to talk about now. *dodges tomatoes and various items thrown at her***

**Really! Sorry! Ok so this is the update. I made it a bit longer for you to be able to forgive me *Bats eyelashes*. And I promise I will update faster from now on, since ideas for this story are practically oozing out of my brain now.**

**I would like to thank my BIBLICAL beta Karin/Kael/all-the-other-nicknames-she-has for her incomparable help she has given me with this story and for the fact that she is one the very few people I can bounce ideas back and forth from.**

**Also I would like to thank rogueman999 for his unbelievably helpful reviews.**

**Thank you again to DeeaE for sticking with my story. *hands out virtual cookie***

**AND another thank you, and a big THANK YOU at that, to NeverShoutRawr who is also a very talented writer and I suggest, if you liked my story, to go read hers as well. **

**The URL is: ****.net/s/6023960/1/Stuck_In_The_Impossible**

**And thank you to all the other people that reviewed, favorited and/or subscribed.**

**You all deserve lots and lots of cookies. *hands out gigantic imaginary tray filled with virtual cookies***

**Now…on with the show!**

* * *

My large backyard…wonderful green grass, check; Large wooden table, check; grill, meat, knives, forks, plates, bowls, check, check, check, check, check and check. Salad veggies, check, check. Parents…check, Madara…check…unfortunately, guests…MIA!

I was currently hauling the large wooden table across the yard to find a better position for it, so the smoke from the grill would not bother us as we ate.

"Jessie! Go help your mother with the plates!" Race told me while pulling on a large sac of coal.

"Oh, fuck off" I muttered under my breath. "Madara." I addressed the Uchiha who was currently sitting leisurely on my back porch sipping some sake. He turned his head slightly to me. "Why don't you go help my mom with the plates?" I said between gritted teeth.

"But I'm having so much fun as it is now." He said wearing an evil smirk.

"Madara! Please, I'm busy."

He sighed and placed the cup of sake on the porch as he got to his feet and proceeded into the house. Thank Kami he was in a good mood. I certainly didn't know why he actually decided to be nice again, but since I'm not getting tormented…who am I to complain?

"WAAAAAA!" I believe I spoke too soon…that was mom screaming. I thought as I let the table go and rushed inside to see what had happened. I swear…if he laid one hand on her in a malicious manner I would tear his immortal ass limb from limb.

"I swear! If you do that again Madara-san I will report you to the Hokage! This is harassment I tell you! Now seriously since when did you think it is a good idea to sneak up on civilians like that?"

Ok…now this… is weird…no…I think it has long passed the boundary of weird. Chise was scolding Madara for sneaking up on her and he just stood there, leaned on a counter opposite to her smirking, seemingly amused by the whole situation. He turned to me and said:

"Now I know where you get you feisty personality from. And just for the record Chise-san, I did not sneak up on you. You need to pay more attention to your surroundings."

"The hell I do! I'm in my own house. You need to make your presence known when you enter a room! For crying out loud! I had enough of this for nine years living with that ass of an ex husband of mine!"

"Fine, I will take that into consideration." Madara said as he took the plates from the table behind my mom and carried them outside.

Toto I don't think were in Kansas anymore…I think I had been flung in a parallel dimension where everything is upside down and wrong side up. Whatever…I needed to eat.

I exited into the back yard just in time to see Itachi, Kisame and Sasuke gracefully jump the fence from their backyard to mine.

"Hey guys!" I said happily "Come help me with this" I gestured to the wooden table which I had not gotten to move to a right place because of my mother's scream.

Kisame grabbed one end as I took the other and we finally placed the table right, as Madara set the pile of plates on top of it.

"Can someone get the grill burning please?" Race said as he was unwrapping a few chunks of meat.

I was setting the table, Kisame was carrying the bear closer to our dining spot and Itachi had gone to help my mother with the salad.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!" I heard and I immediately entered Shinobi-mode ready to defend any and everyone. I took a defensive stance dropping a plate onto the grass as I scanned the perimeter for any immediate danger. And then I noticed what had happened: Sasuke had lit the grill…

"Otouto!" Itachi was on the back porch with a scolding look directed towards his little brother. Relaxing, I picked up the plate I had dropped, walked up to the young Uchiha and thrust it in his face.

"Wash!" I commanded receiving an eye twitch and a 'Neji* you' look. He made no gesture to take the plate from my hand.

"Waaaaaashhhhhh…" I tried again saying the word slower as if talking to a two year old child. Then he forcefully ripped the plate from my hand, uttering a small 'hn' and stomped toward the kitchen.

Translation: Go to hell but I'm gonna wash it anyway 'couse that's just the kind of guy I am. I smirked at my triumph.

"Sweetheart!" mom was calling me. "Could you get the salad sauce from the fridge for me?"

"Sure thing mom!" I said going into the kitchen after Sasuke. He was still sulking…

"Nice way to light a fire gaki…" I tried to lighten the mood.

"Don't call me gaki!"

"But you're like seventeen and I'm twenty two going on twenty three…and above that, I changed your dippers!" I said grinning like a madman. At that Sasuke visibly paled. I remembered the day quite clearly…I was scared shitless.

* * *

_**Bright day in Konoha, the birds were singing, the sun was shining up in the sky, the smell of flowers in the air and Itachi and I were at his house and staring at a one year old crying Sasuke.**_

_**Fugaku-sama was on a mission and Mikoto-sama left to buy groceries…three hours ago. Sasuke had been crying for about ten minutes. We were looking at him intently as if wiling him to tell us what was wrong.**_

"_**I think he's hungry…" I suggested**_

"_**No…he doesn't cry like that when he's hungry…I think we need to change his dippers…"**_

_**At that, we both stared at each other for a couple of seconds before I broke the silence:**_

"_**So…Umm…how do we do that?"**_

"_**I saw mother do it a couple of times…I don't think it's that hard… first we take off the old dipper and then give him a bath…"**_

"_**We can't give him a bath Itachi…we're not tall enough to place him in a tub safely…"**_

"_**Well then I guess… 'Baby Wipes'?"**_

"_**That might work…so where are they?"**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**The Baby Wipes!"**_

"_**Oh…Top shelf right counter."**_

"_**Ok" I said as I climbed up the counter he told me to get them. When I returned baby Sasuke was already on the bed next to Itachi. We removed his dipper and I started to stare.**_

"_**What?" Itachi asked me.**_

"_**I've never seen one before…"**_

"_**What do you mean?"**_

"_**That!" I said pointing at his baby penis.**_

"_**Oh…I have one too…"**_

"_**I know" I said startled "I've just never seen one…"**_

"_**Oh…" He trailed off "Will you clean him or should I?"**_

"_**I'll do it." I said, sporting an annoyed blush "You get the baby powder and a new dipper."**_

_**He nodded and left. I theoretically knew how to change a dipper, since I had accidently looked at one of my mother's books that described that in detailed images…but now I had to do it for real and the thought scared me. I gathered my courage and cleaned him with about two baby wipes and made the old dipper into a bundle, safe to be carried off to the trash.**_

_**Itachi returned with the powder and dipper and I handed him the old one. While he was throwing it away, I applied the powder and wrapped Sasuke in the fresh dipper.**_

"_**He's so small…"I said to Itachi who was now climbing back onto of the bed. "I thought I was going to break him…"**_

"_**He's not that fragile…he'll grow up to be very strong…"**_

"_**Yeah…"I said smiling and leaning my head onto Itachi's shoulder. "Just like his Aniki…"**_

* * *

"You WHAT?" Sasuke's voice brought me out of my daze.

"I changed your dipper once" I said as I started laughing, almost dropping the salad sauce that I had just removed from the refrigerator. "You should have seen how hard you were crying…hahaha"

But before I could tell the now mortified Sasuke the whole story, more guests arrived.

"Konichiwa mina-san!" Naruto was the one to speak. The blond bundle of sunshine entered my kitchen followed by Sakura, Mara and Karin.

"The front door was unlocked, and since Bannon-sama invited us here, we decided to let ourselves in." she told me with a kind smile. Then she turned to Sasuke, adopting a more serious demeanor. "Just to set things straight…I blame everything you did on temporary insanity…so we're good?" she said holding out a hand to him. This obviously was not a normal custom here: to shake hands…but I believe that Sakura wanted a more personal approach to this promise they would make. Sasuke seamed a bit phased but extended his hand none the less.

"We're good" he confirmed.

"Good" Sakura said shaking his hand and smiling once again "I'll go see what I can help with…" she told us as she walked out the back door.

"Naruto I…" I wanted to apologies for the fact that he had to work with the man that effectively ruined his life.

"Thank you!" he chirruped happily to me. Though the action left me stunned.

"Why?"

"Because you showed me that we can all work together…that even enemies can be friends. Now I'm sure I can reach my goal to see the day when we can all understand each other."

"I…"

"Plus…you brought Teme back." He said draping his hand over the shoulders of a now very annoyed Sasuke. "Even though I'm a little put out that it wasn't me who did it, it's still ok."

He smiled brightly and dragged 'Teme' out the back door with him. I swear that his smile is worth a thousand watts.

"Thank you Naruto…" I whispered to the wind as I followed them out.

"Here's the sauce, mom." I told her as I handed the bottle to her.

I watched the scene unfold: Itachi was helping my parents; Naruto still had his arm around Sasuke's neck in a friendly manner, all the while trying to tell him about his training. Sakura was talking to Karin about surgery, Kisame was attentively listening to something Mara was telling him, and Madara had resumed his place on the porch with his sake. It was nice…it was peaceful.

In about half hour we finally finished cooking the food and we were eating. I quietly chuckled to myself as I eyed Itachi's plate. It I knew one thing for sure it was that Itachi hated stake, which was what the majority of us were eating; he, on the other hand, opted for chicken breast and salad. Sasuke was, like the rest of us eating stake, only instead of salad, his plate was half full of tomatoes.

"Hey! Where are all the tomatoes?" Karin said annoyed. Was she reading my mind?

"I whink we'we fwesh ouw" Race tried to talk with a mouth full of meat. "I think we're fresh out…" he repeated more intelligibly after he swallowed his food.

Karin looked as if someone had announced the incoming Armageddon but right when she almost burst into a fit, since she would not get her 'tomato dose' of the day, Sasuke sat up and emptied half of his tomatoes into her plate. Ah…the two biggest fans of tomatoes in the world have finally found each other. A quick flash of them living together and opening the fridge as a ton of tomatoes falls on top of them went through my mind and I started to giggle. I think they heard me laugh because the next second they were both glaring at me. That was weird…they were both as read as tomatoes…no pun intended. Ah….young love…I thought, then I mentally slapped myself: Karin was the same age as I. Ha…and Sasuke's not even legal yet. At that thought I burst into laughter and suddenly stopped as all people at the table were looking at me like I had just gone bonkers.

"Princess…are you… ok?" Kisame was holding his fork half way to his mouth and looking at me with a worried expression.

"I think stress has finally gotten to her." Madara stated amused.

"NO! I'm fine" I said defensively "It's just…never mind."

Thankfully, they disregarded my little outburst and lunch continued leisurely. It was already dark outside when we finished. Mara had left a bit early saying that she had something to attend to and Naruto offered to walk Sakura home, which she finally accepted after a lot of insisting on the blonds' part.

"See you later guys! Bye Teme!" he said as they walked out.

"Well…I guess I should get going too…" Karin told me.

I kissed her on both cheeks "Take care of yourself, ok?"

"I will" she said smiling.

"Need me to walk you home?" Sasuke had come up behind me and was addressing the question to Karin. I guess it was his way of saying 'Would you be so kind as to let me accompany you to your place, so that I can revel in your company some more'

"I…I…c-can take c-care of myself you know…" she tried to be stern but failed miserably; the profuse blush she was sporting indicated that.

"I know" he answered. I don't think that actually needs a translation. We get it…he likes her…

"Ok…"

And they left. I was grinning like a complete idiot with a pile of dirty dishes in my hands while looking at them. They were so cute. Even though Karin was older, she still looked as young as the seventeen year old Uchiha. They made a good couple.

"They look good together." Itachi's voice rang from beside me.

"Huh?"

"I said they…"

"I know what you said. I heard you." I interrupted him "It's just that it was the same thing I was thinking." I told him smiling.

Itachi and Kisame decided to stay and help with the clean-up, whereas Madara found a sofa and a book to relish in. When we finished it was already about eleven in the evening.

"Hey…it's getting late and I for one think I had one too may bears to go with that barbeque." Kisame said eyeing me. He was referring to the fact that I had drank about six bears that day. I wasn't drunk, not even tipsy but I was sleepy.

"Sure…I'll walk you guys out."

I accompanied then to the door, Kisame had exited after we said our goodbyes and before Itachi could go out after him, I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward me so I could kiss his cheek.

"Goodnight…" I whispered.

"Goodnight." He said smiling before he left.

* * *

A week had passed since we moved into Konoha. It was six o'clock in the morning and I had just gotten out of bed. Weird how I got used to waking up early. Usually 'morning' to me meant ten o'clock, but I guess one year among top notch shinobi did help me readjust my schedule. I took off my pajamas and decided to take a look at myself in the full length mirror I had installed next to my bookcase three days ago.

"Yosh! Finally!" I said out loud. The week of eating sleeping and more eating paid off. I looked normal again. I was weighing about fifty kilograms again. Thank GOD! No more baggy clothes. I turned to my dresser and put on a pair of black capris and a tight white tank-top. In a rush I went downstairs, bid my parents and Madara good morning and fled out the door to Itachi's house. Upon entering the first thing I noticed was that all three of them were sitting at a table drinking tee.

"Hey guys look!" I said sticking my chest up. "I HAVE BOOBS AGAIN!" at that Kisame just sprayed out his tee and started laughing. The other two Uchihas were looking at me like I suddenly grew anther head out of my ass.

I laughed and walked up to the kitchen counter and put a kettle on the fire.

"Good morning to you too…" Sasuke said snapping out of his previous daze.

"Good morning chicken butt, Itachi, Kisame." I said smiling.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Sasuke asked, or more like yelled out at me.

"What?" I asked mock-stunned at his question. "Your hair _does_ look like a chicken's ass."

"Jessie…" Itachi said scolding my child like behavior.

"Uh…your hair looks… fine?" I said addressing Sasuke but looking at Itachi while searching for approval in his eyes. He smiled slightly…

"So, Sasuke…you meeting Naruto today?" I asked leaning on the counter.

"Yeah. We're sparring today. Training ground eight, after breakfast."

"Cool!" I stated. "Can I come watch?"

"Do as you please." He huffed.

"Yey! I'll go get ready." I said storming out of their house and into mine.

I grabbed my weapons pouch and Sou'Unga and went downstairs. Race and Madara were in the kitchen, seemingly discussing trivial stuff. And when I say trivial stuff, I mean _me_. They were talking about me.

"And how did she cope with that?" Race asked a question related to something I did not know.

"Pretty well considering she didn't let him die at all."

"_She _didn't let him die? I thought Itachi-san survived on his own."

"Not exactly. I still don't know how she managed to make a fake body and replace the real one with it, and I still don't know how she brought him back to life, but the fact of the matter is that…"

"He's alive and that's that!" I interrupted annoyed. "It's none of you business how I did what I did and furthermore, it's impolite to gossip; especially about someone who lives in the same house."

"But…" Madara chuckled and continued maliciously "She didn't do a well enough job at it. I noticed the difference. Subtle but still visible." He said to Race. Then he turned toward me and continued "I still don't see how you made that mistake…It's not like you're _blind_ or anything…" he trailed off smirking.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get going. Friends are expecting me you know." I bowed politely "Shitsurei shimashita" I said and headed to training ground eight.

What…the hell…was that? What a prick! I mean I know he knows about my eyes. Hell…he's been working with Adrian, and I practically showed him when I was on the island and teleported to the Kage meeting, but to say it like that? Oh well…I guess Madara was back to being Madara again…Toto…welcome back to Kansas. And about that flaw in perception I had regarding Itachi's fake body, _of course_ I didn't notice: I was in a great hurry to get the body there and get Itachi out. It _was_ my own damned fault but Karin would not have had time to fix it anyway. Whatever…what was done was done. Today is a gift…that's why they call it the present…or so a wise man said once…

* * *

Training ground eight was a large grass field with a few trees here and there. There were people already gathering around. Looks like word spreads fast in Konoha, I mean…who _wouldn't_ want to see the freshly risen from perdition Uchiha Sasuke, spar with his childhood friend Uzumaki Naruto, the savior and hero of Konohagakure? I scouted the area for someone I could recognize and I saw Karin. My view was partially blocked by a small crowd of people so I couldn't see exactly what she was doing, leaned with her elbows on a small wooden fence surrounding the training ground, so I approached. Hot dang! Kakashi was there, next to her…flirting? He was telling her a story or something, I couldn't make out anything because of the distance and it would be completely useless to use my Jagan to try and lip-read because he was, as always, wearing his mask, so I decided to watch from afar.

Kakashi said something again and his sole visible eye curved into a smile as she laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; then she said something back to him. I shortly pondered lip-reading again but I decided against it…who was _I_ to invade their private lives? The weird thing was the fact that I thought Karin liked Sasuke…which was probably the reason she was here today, but she…or rather Kakashi was obviously flirting openly with her.

Ah…and the guests of honor have arrived. Naruto and Sasuke were walking towards the training ground. Sasuke was wearing a simple white t-shirt and a pair of black capris completed with black standard ninja sandals, which was a very nice change from the clothes he used to wear since he left Konoha…they kinna made him look gay…ish, and Naruto, as always, was wearing his orange and black jumpsuit. I swear…didn't that thing ever get dirty? Or did he have a secret stash of hundreds of jumpsuits that looked the same so no one could tell the difference? IT'S A CONSPIRACY I TELL YOU! Oh well never mind that. Something interesting just happened: Karin looked toward Sasuke and blushed as she waved him hello, just as Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, which, in turn made the young Uchiha glare daggers at that said sensei of his. Love triangle completed with teacher-student competition…now… this will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, be interesting.

After that unexpected and wonderful display of emotion, Sasuke entered the training ground, followed by a grinning Naruto. They took their stance. And so the spar began.

The first to attack was, obviously, Naruto. He charged toward Sasuke and tried to kick him in the side, but, the Uchiha took hold of his leg and pulled the blond, trying to land a punch in his face, but unfortunately for the Sharingan user, the Naruto he tried to punch was a clone. The real one was behind him with a Rasengan. Sasuke looked like he got hit by Naruto's jutsu, but in a flash he turned into a log. A simple Kawarimi, but very well used. Haha! Naruto got logged (or loged…I don't know how to spell a nonexistent word…).

Sasuke reappeared at a distance behind Naruto. Making a series of hand seals, he shouted "Raiton: Chidori Nagashi!" and sent a large stream of electricity toward his opponent. Naruto dodged and started making seals of his own.

"Fuuton: Reppushou" a gust of wind blew toward Sasuke. The range of the attack was pretty wide so he couldn't dodge in time. In stead he made a short series of hand seals and shouted "Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu". The blast from the fire ball lit harder with the help of the wind and the small explosion that erupted, sent both boys in opposite directions. They weren't harmed, thankfully.

"Fuuton: Kaiten Shuriken" Naruto said as he created four disks of rotating wind and threw a shuriken inside each of them. Now he controlled the shuriken's trajectory at will. Sasuke was now dodging and analyzing how to stop Naruto's wind shuriken jutsu.

They were good. Even though they weren't using anything more than C-rank jutsu yet, you could clearly see that they were both very powerful ninja. And when did Naruto even learn those cool Fuuton jutsus.

Sasuke managed to cook up an idea on how to lose those wind shuriken of Naruto's. He positioned himself with his back to a rather thick tree trunk and waited for the shuriken to approach, and then he dodged at the last moment, successfully avoiding it. The said shuriken implanted itself so deep into the tree bark that the wind disk could not remove it, thus rendering it useless. One down three to go. The young Uchiha then sped toward some trees, two of which were positioned quite close together, and passed right through the narrow space between them, as two of the three shuriken's implanted themselves one in each tree trunk. Only one more to go.

Sasuke entered the open field once more, doing a summersault and avoiding the last shuriken as it twisted and charged toward him again. It was getting closer to the young brunette and just when he was about to get hit he…

"YEEEEP!" Somebody just touched my shoulder and I jumped onto the small wood fence I was previously leaned on. Turning around I spotted a very amused Weasel looking up at me.

"The hell did you do that for?" I shouted annoyed.

"You weren't paying attention…" He trailed off. I could see he got a kick out of scaring me.

"I _was_! I was paying attention to the spar!"

Just then, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. I bent over, my legs still on the wooden fence but my face was inches from his. I blushed profusely.

"You _should_ pay more attention to your surroundings…" he told me in a husky voice.

Just then I looked up and saw the last wind driven shuriken pass above our heads and into the training ground aria again. It must have been close to hitting me and that's why Itachi pulled me to him. Damn! And just when I thought he was flirting…

I got down from the fence and was now face to face with Itachi. "Thank you." I said looking into his eyes. Damn, he had beautiful eyes. A sudden urge to say something along the lines of: 'Do you have a map? I think I got lost in your eyes…' to him sparked but I don't think he would appreciate a cheep pick-up line joke…so we both turned to see the rest of the spar.

Sasuke had successfully managed to lose all four of Naruto's shuriken and was now making hand seals again.

"Katon Ryuka no Jutsu" He said, and a large fire dragon emerged from his breath attacking Naruto, whom, skillfully managed to doge the flames. "Katon Housenka no Jutsu" Sasuke said again and sent gusts of flames toward the blond. Naruto avoided them by zigzagging and in the process getting closer to the Uchiha.

"Fuuton: Goukuuhou" The Jinchiurinki said and exhaled a pretty strong gust of wind, effectively blowing the Uchiha about twenty meters back.

Sasuke rebalanced himself and threw at leas fifty shuriken Naruto's way in a flash.

"Fuuton: Sensougouheki" the blond said, and a wall of wind appeared in front of him, deflecting all the weapons Sasuke had been so kind to direct his way.

"Raiton: Kaminari" The raven haired teen said as he held his right hand up to the sky. Out of thin air, a thunderbolt descended to his hand, which he aimed in Naruto's general direction. The blond blocked it yelling "Fuuton: Kaze No Yaiba" and a wind blade sliced through the lightning and continued toward Sasuke, whom, dodged it…barely…the fight was getting serious…they were using A-rank jutsus now. I started wondering if this was actually a spar or were they turning it into some kind of face-off for everything they've been through.

Sasuke had appeared in front of Naruto now and the strange thing is the blond didn't react when Sasuke pulled out a kunai and held it at his throat. Ah…genjutsu, and we all know how 'good' Naruto is at genjutsu…

The spar was over…Sasuke had won.

They made the peace sign** as Naruto started yelling.

"I thought we agreed on no genjutsu! And no A-class jutsus either! Teme!"

"Urusai Dobe…I got carried away." The raven teen said smirking.

I mentally sighed, happy to see they were not actually fighting.

Just then the crowd erupted into applause. Awww…so cute…even though there weren't so many people there, the thought counted so much. They were both accepted now in Konoha.

Itachi had already jumped the fence and was walking toward his otouto to congratulate him. I let him finish as I slowly approached them myself. Itachi had one hand on Sasuke's shoulder, and I lightly punched the teen on the other.

"Good work gaki." I said beaming.

"Don't call me that!" He snapped.

"Ah…ware, ware…" I grinned and turned to Naruto.

"How's my little ball of sunshine feeling?" I exaggerated my tone a bit just for the joke's sake, and I draped an arm around his shoulders. He looked a bit…how should I put this…mortified. Weather it was from the gesture or the words I had used to describe him, he was defiantly not expecting it. I laughed a bit at the cute expression on his face and I apologized removing my arm from his person.

"We're leaving now" Sasuke told us "Aniki wants to show me some tricks with the Sharingan."

"I'll be following a bit later. I want to talk to Naruto." I said smiling as they turned and left.

Looking back to the blond, I noticed he had a perplexed look on his whiskered face.

"Ummm…Naruto-kun" I started sweetly "You have a Fuuton affinity…right?"

"Ummm, yeah…"

"Can you please teach me some of those cool jutsus I saw you do here today Pleeease…" I said in a hurry as I bowed politely. It probably sounded more like ' Canpleaseteach cooljutsu sawhere Pleeeeeese'

Luckily for me, he understood what I had tried to say.

"You want _me_ to teach you?" I have no idea why he was so surprised, I mean…he was very good.

"Well yeah…"

"Really?" He asked beaming.

"Really."

"Ok! But we have to move to training ground ten 'couse there more trees there."

"Wait! Now?"

"Yeah now!" he said grabbing my arm and dragging me after him.

"Arigato Naruto-sensei!" I screamed in joy…

* * *

*** For those of you who do not know, _Neji_ actually means _screw_….so….put the translation in there and see what you get…(wink wink)**

**** The peace sign is the one when sparing partners hold their index and middle finger from the left hand together and hook them one partner with the other's. (It is showed a couple of times throughout the anime and manga.)**

**P.S. This chapter was supposed to be posted a bit sooner but my beta 'ran out' of internet so she couldn't…well…beta it.**

**Thank you for reading.**

**TBC**


	18. Wind and Forest

**Hey guys...it's been a while. I have no excuse. So on with the story...**

**Lemon (FINALLY!) **

**Have fun.**

_**~~Bold Italics is dream~~**_

* * *

Have you ever been dragged by your arm for an extended period of time? Trust me…it's not pleasant; and as much as I loved the sunny, hyperactive, oddly naturally tanned, unpredictable ninja that was Uzumaki Naruto, all I wanted to do was rip out his right arm and start smacking him over the head with it. Speaking about ripped arms…I looked to check _my_ right arm, just to see if it was in its designated place. Evrika! It was…at least for now, but if he continued his current activity, which was pulling on my said arm to get me to the training ground, I don't think the result would be in my favor.

"We're here!" He announced cheerfully. Thank GOD! I don't think my arm could have taken any more abuse or it would have popped out of its socket for sure. Of course I didn't complain much either considering the fact that _he_ was going to start training me.

I rubbed my shoulder to try to lessen the pain. I wonder if it would swell by the end of the day? Meh…never mind.

"So…How do we start?" I asked smiling.

"Ummm…haven't thought about that." He said scratching the back of his neck embarrassed "I don't even fully know what you're capable off…"

"Well, considering the fact that I have this cool Doujutsu, we can pretty much start wherever you want to. I can copy any ninjutsu, just like the Sharingan." I said smirking. But then another thought crossed my mind. "But I'd rather not use that now. I haven't actually trained in quite some time, so some old fashion studying would probably do me some good."

"Oh my God! You can copy jutsu too? How cool is that tebayo!"

Typical. I laughed to myself. It shall be the greatest kept mystery of mankind how all the villagers could hate this boy for the most part of his life. I mean…I get he's Kyuubi's vessel and all; and I was present at the Nine Tails attack all that time ago, so I was supposed to be as scared of him as the rest of them, but if you took ten seconds to look and listen to him…not much…just ten seconds…you would realize that the Kyuubi and himself had nothing in common, except for the body. He's warm and nice and happy all the time, and he can make you smile and feel better about yourself, or give you confidence and lend you his strength. And…and… he was looking at me funny…Oh shit! I was staring.

"Umm…yeah…" I snapped back to reality "The Jagan is the original eye power so I guess I can do a lot of the things the other Doujutsu can." God, I hope I sounded smarter than I felt I looked at the moment. How the hell did I just space out on my sensei?

"Wow! Cool!" Was his only reply.

Quick question: How can someone be as dumb and as brilliant as him at the same time?

"Umm…thanks…I guess…" I mumbled "So I guess we can start out with a C rank jutsu or something like that."

"Yeah…that sounds about right!" He nodded enthusiastically. And _he's supposed_ to be _my_ sensei…

"Ok…we'll start of with Daitoppa and maybe Kaiten Shuriken and we'll see where to go from there."

"Perfect! Arigato Naruto-sensei!"

Come to think about it, 'perfect' wasn't exactly the word I would use to describe my training session right now…thirty minutes into the lesson, I had fucked up any and all attempts on performing the Daitoppa no jutsu. This particular jutsu consisted in channeling the wind element to my throat, and after bringing my hands to my mouth I would blow out a gust of wind capable of moderate destruction. Unfortunately my 'gust of wind capable of moderate destruction' wasn't even a small breeze. Excuse my French, but a fart was capable of more destruction than my jutsu was right now.

Naruto sweat-dropped for what I believe was the umpteenth time since the session began. "Maybe we should try a different approach?" He offered.

I huffed defeated and waited for him to save me. He tuned toward a tree and came to me with something in his hand. It was a leaf.

"Hold this between your palms and try to cut it with your chakra." The blond instructed.

I took it hesitantly and did as I was told…well up to the part about the cutting that is.

"Imagine your chakra as two winds clashing together and forming a blade." He told me "You said you used Fuuton before right?"

I nodded in response.

"So this should be much more easier for you than it was for me." Naruto told me heading toward a shady tree nearby. "I'll be right here if you need more pointers or if you finish"

Ok. I could do this. I could! Really!

Well…I could…but it took me the better part of five hours just to make a half cut through the small leaf. When I finally got the cut to go all the way to split the leaf in half it was already night outside, and Naruto was sleeping soundly under the tree he sat. I walked over to him, crouched and lightly poked him in the arm.

"Yo." I said grinning.

"Huh?" Naruto cracked his eyes open looking at me confused.

"Wakey wakey sleepy head. Look." I showed him the cut leaf. "I did it!"

"Great!" He said waking up "What time is it?"

"Late." I offered "We're going home, but next time, I'm gonna nail that jutsu!"

"That's the spirit!" He grinned as he got to his feet and helped me up as well. "Keep telling yourself that…" He mumbled under his breath. He probably think I didn't catch it… Jerk! But I dismissed the thought rapidly as we left.

We started to walk toward the actual village, since the training grounds were in the outskirts.

"How does tomorrow at ten sound for you?" Naruto asked me.

"God. I love the fact that you're not a morning person." I said laughing "It's perfect."

A moment of silence passed between us. It was quiet on the streets. I guess everyone was off to beddybye land. Well, since the reconstruction of Konoha after Pein decided to transform it into a super-sized cunt, everyone has been working hard and they were all probably tired. The unspoken curfew was, in a way, relaxing to me. All I could hear were Naruto's and mine's steps on the dirt road; rhythmical…almost worth counting in an obsessive compulsive way…it made you lose yourself I the soft metronomic sound: one, two, three…an anal rhythm…so natural, it beckoned you to listen, like an invisible pendulum, or the suspended pocket watch the psychiatrists use to use in hypnotherapy sessions in the old days. I was tired…cutting that leaf took an unexpected amount of my chakra…probably because most of it went to waste because of my inexperience, and so I welcomed the hypnotic sound with open arms, hoping that I could turn into a somnambulist and let my legs find the way to go.

"Hey, Jessie?" My contemplation of the night's sounds, or lack there of, was brutally shattered by Naruto's soft voice.

"Yes…" I answered a bit dreamily as I slowly came back up from beneath the blankets of my personal revere.

"Sasuke…How did he react when you told him the truth about Itachi-san?"

"Unexpectedly well." I said in a light tone "I was actually thinking he might want to kill me or maybe have a panic attack while he was at it. He didn't…he just threatened that if I were to deceive him, he would cut my head straight off."

"Ha…that sure does sound like him." he responded with a tone that I could vaguely place somewhere between a chuckle, a bark and a snort.

Another silence descended. Our steps could be heard again, and this time an owl decided to make its presence known before it silently flew off to hunt for some poor rodent in the pitch black of the night.

"What would have happened if you didn't tell him?…If he never found out?"

"Naruto…I don't understand the question?"

"I heard you dream, or just know stuff…" The hyperactive ball of energy looked at me dead in the eye now. His demeanor had done a one-eighty and was now radiating a serious chakra signature. Not a scary one…but demanding in a sort friendly way…maybe in a way desperate or utterly thirsty for an answer…the truth…the defeat of uncertainty.

"What would had happened if Sasuke had never found out Itachi-san's truth?" he asked again.

"Umm…Naruto…I don't think it's important…" I tried to shirk the question.

"I need to know" His voice was pleading. I didn't even need to feel the flair of his chakra. The hand that grabbed my forearm to stop me in my tracks was proof enough of what he was feeling.

"Ok" I said looking at him. The intensive stare of his bright blue eyes felt as if it were boring holes into me…repeatedly. "You have to understand I don't know everything."

He opened his mouth to say something but I anticipated that and cut him off "But…I can tell you what I know. He fought his brother, and Itachi died. Don't get me wrong…it's not that Sasuke's stronger that Itachi, but more like Itachi chose to die by his otouto's hand." Before I continued with the story I sent out a chakra flare to scan the vicinity…we were alone "Itachi was sick you know. Advanced tuberculosis…the disease was slowly eating away at him. He was planning on dying so he sought no permanent treatment. Upon passing away, Itachi gave Sasuke a last parting gift: his own Amaterasu inside Sasuke's left eye, which would activate at the sight of Madara's Sharingan, in hope that it would keep his otouto away from that monster of a person. Itachi failed in doing so." Naruto, now had a calmer look on his face but traces of worry could still be seen "Madara would have taken Sasuke right after the battle with Itachi and he would have told him Itachi's truth anyway. As you know Sasuke has a…how can I put this?…volatile personality. That fact is due mostly to his childhood experiences, so one can never be too sure of how he would react…" I trailed off…I didn't want to tell him more…I didn't want Naruto to know…

"So how _did_ he react? In your dreams…" he asked again, his grip on my arm slightly tightening unconsciously, almost to the point of it being a tad uncomfortable, but not painful.

"He…" I really didn't want to tell him this, buy maybe…just maybe…he needed to know… "He would have wanted to crush Konoha." At that Naruto's eyes widened, and his bright blue orbs darkened a shade.

"I…I don't…I don't believe" He stuttered.

"Naruto…"

"I don't believe!" he was in denial.

"Naruto…" I pleaded again.

"NO! I DON'T BELIEVE!" he turned away releasing the grip on my arm and prepared to jump to get away from me and run. In that fraction of a second I felt like in one of those chick flicks where the guy runs away before the girl can explain how he misunderstood or how sorry she was…I wasn't one of those stupid girls and I sure as hell wasn't going to let Naruto leave here angry, so, whilst thanking God and every second I had spent training with the master of agility that goes by the infamous name of Uchiha Itachi, I sprung and grabbed Naruto's wrist before he got out of my range.

"Let me go!" He ordered. But I knew what was bothering him.

"You would have brought him back." I said softly, contradicting Naruto's prior tone.

"What?" his eyes were wide, as if he didn't expect me to say such a thing.

"You would have brought Sasuke back yourself." I repeated "Maybe not today, maybe not this year but you would have brought him back. Remember that Itachi gave you a part of his power before his battle with Sasuke?"

"You mean that crow that forced its way down my throat? That wasn't a genjutsu?"

"No…that was Itachi's back-up plan. He trusts you Naruto. He trusts you and your friendship with Sasuke so much that he was willing to leave his beloved otouto in you care and die. So I guess you _have_ to understand that you would have brought him back."

"But what if I didn't? I'm not worthy of being Hokage if I can't even…"

"I'm not even gonna _let_ you finish that sentence!" I stated sternly "Don't you even dare to _think about_ that!"

Ok, maybe it was sappy, or stupid or just a momentary impulse, but, while my hand was still around his left wrist, I pulled him to me and hugged him.

"If there's anyone in this world that deserves to be Hokage, Naruto…" I said into his shoulder as I held onto him tightly "…It's _you_".

He finally returned the hug after the initial shock had passed. I was grateful for him. I could fell his body slightly shaking from the onslaught of information and emotion, but his chakra was now, calm. After a minute we ended the hug.

"Would you remove your hitai-ate for me for a minute please?" I asked him politely.

"Huh?"

"Please." I tried again. This time he relinquished all questions and did as he was asked. I took his face between my hands and pulled him to me again, this time planting my lips lightly to his forehead.

"Goodnight Naruto." I said smiling and placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Goodnight Jessie." He told me giving me a tired half-smile as I let my hand fall slowly from his shoulder to my side.

He started walking to the right, toward Konoha's center, where he lived, which left me with the left side of the intersection, which led home, to the Uchiha compound.

The night was as quiet as before, but instead of my footsteps, all I heard now were my own thoughts. I didn't feel tired anymore due to the small adrenalin rush that happened just moments ago. When I reached my house, strangely enough, I didn't feel like going inside. I took a detour to my back yard and peaked at Itachi's window. The lights were off. He was sleeping…which would be the sane thing to do at this hour, but who ever said I was sane. I pushed chakra into my legs and sprung toward Shi no Mori. I hadn't been there in years, and I couldn't think of a better night. There was no cloud in sight and the first night of the full moon shone above.

I arrived in less than ten minutes…I had gotten much faster…it used to take me between twenty to thirty minutes to get there when I was a child. I made a few hand seals to be able to pass through the genjutsu Itachi and I set, when we were little, over the spot. I remember he had found this genjutsu scroll through his father's things. It was for concealing of small to medium spaces. It would have been a simple one man job but it took both Itachi and I to do it, and we actually found it quite complicated at the time…but we did it none the less.

Stepping inside the genjutsu kekai, I was pleasantly assaulted by the smell of humidity, fresh grass and leafs. It was the smell of my childhood. The place looked untouched, as if it was waiting for us to return to it…to pick up where we left off…from before we lost what was ours and only ours.

I took off my sandals and let my bare feet touch the moist grass of the forest floor. And here I was in my little sanctuary, with the trees that encircled this personal paradise like the walls of an aged fortress, the dark green grass with the moon that shone in each and every speck of cold dew, giving it a silver aura, the small lake that now seamed more like a pond but not less impressive in the light as if the night itself let fall a silver cloak on top of the water dressing it for my arrival. And the giant dead log that was a few meters in front of the water, like a wooden couch. And oh how many conversations I had had with Itachi on that 'couch'.

I slowly started walking toward it, savoring every feeling that the grass, the dew, the earth left lingering on the skin of the soles of my feet. The feel of the rough wood underneath me, as I seated myself onto the log added to the naturalness of the moment. It was perfect.

Of course the surroundings would eventually fully bring my mind back to him: Itachi. How many times have I sat here with him? Uncountable. How many words have we exchanged in this place? Unimaginable.

I reached inside the right pocket of my capris and pulled out my pack of cigarettes and my lighter. I put the cigarette to my lips and just as I was about to click the lighter on to light it and take a drag of much needed nicotine after such a long day, I heard a twig snap. I spun to my right, which was were the sound came from, and sent out a small chakra flare to see who it was…Think of the devil and he appears…Itachi. He stood between two large trees at the other end of the clearing. He definitely snapped that twig on purpose. Bastard…trying to scare me. He had a sweet smile on his lips and this far out look in his eyes…as if he was remembering something fond, when he started slowly walking toward me. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of black shinobi pants, master of stealth he was, and he had something black draped over his arm. He lightly took a seat next to me on the log as I lit my cigarette.

"I thought you were sleeping…" I said smirking at him. He just lightly shrugged and smiled. I chuckled at the childish gesture.

"You were not much of a sleeper to begin with…now were you?" I continued "even as a child you slept like what? Five, six hours a night?"

He smiled and shrugged again…I laughed.

"I missed this place…" I said looking off in the distance toward the lake, or should I start calling it a pond now? No. Lake is what we've always called it. "I didn't even realize _how_ much I missed it until tonight."

"I've been here a few times after you left… and twice since…" he trailed off, his deep voice contrasting with my memories, seeming somehow out of place vibrating of the surrounding landscape, but also just how it should be.

"And how was it?" I continued hoping he would not sink too deep into the memories of the massacre. He reached and grabbed the cigarette from between my slim fingers putting it to his lips and taking a drag. He stood with his elbows leaned on his knees adopting a relaxed position.

"Lonely…" He sighed sharply exhaling.

I was devastated by a simple word. I placed my hand on his. "Itachi…I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault." He stated simply but firmly whilst turning to look into my eyes. It left no room for arguing…it was clear he didn't blame me.

"In fact…" he continued shifting his gaze to the moonlit water "I'm glad you weren't here…who knows…I might have had to kill you…and if _I_ didn't, Madara definitely would have." He dragged another smoke from my cigarette. The tip slightly lighting a bit more of his smooth features as the small parts of tobacco leafs caught fire.

"Itachi…" I tried, but he interrupted me.

"You were the only thing that was left. My only hope that someone could remember me for who I really was…not a murderer who killed almost his whole clan in cold blood in one night. People live their entire life trying to prove to themselves they're not alone. I tried to be different. I tried to grasp the concept of loneliness and revel in it, understand it, become it…but in the end…"

"In the end we can't fight human nature" I told him "And to what purpose should we, when we're never alone if we have someone who thinks about us? Itachi" I lightly placed my hand on his cheek, the one that was opposite to me, so I could guide him to look at me. He did, so I continued "I thought of you…every day, even if I didn't know it. So how _could_ you have been alone when I was always there with you?"

He looked at me befuddled. His onyx eyes searching for something in mine. I had dismantled the whole theory upon which he had built his existence since that faithful night and until now. I told him he was not alone. There were no need for words for the next moment and, for the first time since we reached Konoha, since we arrived home, we kissed. Slow and sweet he pressed his lips to mine. He was so warm; I vaguely wondered how lucky the world is to have something so beautiful on the inside and on the outside as Uchiha Itachi tread its grounds.

He lightly placed his hand on the back of my neck, cigarette forgotten, and started drawing lazy circles with his thumb near my jaw-line. The skin there felt like it was on fire. His lips parted slightly just to let the tip of his tongue caress my lower lip asking for entrance, so I parted my lips and granted access. He deepened the kiss, now, more firmly holding onto my neck. His taste filled my senses again, and how much I wanted to feel that again since that night at the Akatsuki hideout but there was just one little problem: I was getting stiff, and _I_'m not the one who was supposed to get stiff here. Our position on the log was not a good one for what we were doing nor for what we, hopefully, were about to do. Itachi seamed to notice that too because he let go of my neck and ended the kiss. Or at least I hope he noticed that and not just wanted to end everything here.

With the risk of making a fool of myself if Itachi didn't want to go any farther, I got up, walked up face to face with him…well almost face to face…he was still sitting on the log, and I was standing right in front of him. In the quite strong light of the silver full moon I could see the potent red tinge on his cheeks and neck. Uchiha Itachi was flushed…much to my content. I leaned in, so our lips were almost touching and in the mean time I moved my left hand down his neck, his torso, and ended up on his right thigh, where it lingered a bit, and then moved to that black thing he was caring earlier. As soon as I touched the fabric, I realized what it was: his Akatsuki cloak. I chuckled and straightened, probably leaving him a bit confused.

"Just can't let that thing go, can you?" I asked mocking him.

"Hn"

"Ah! Here you go again with the 'hn'!" I was still being sarcastic and playing with him.

I took the cloak and spread it onto the grass. Wow these things were immense…almost as big as a picnic blanket…I never realized the entire spread of the cloak while I was wearing one. Grinning, I took his hand and guided us to lay on the cloak. I lay on my back and Itachi slowly set himself on top of me, almost careful not to break me. He just stood there, in between my legs, leaned on his elbows, and was just looking at me. After one too many seconds of this scrutiny I couldn't take much longer.

"What?" I asked perplexed.

"Nothing" he said smirking "I just can't believe you're here."

"Well…I am…Wanna do something about it?" I asked gaining a bit of a playful mischievous tone.

He just smiled and started kissing me again, but this time the one hand that was free, didn't linger on my neck: it passed lower over my breast and proceeded in taking off my tank top, action, which, I gladly allowed.

"Hm? No bra this time?" it was his turn to mock me.

"Oh, shut up! This thank top doesn't look good with a bra."

Just as soon as I finished that sentence he lowered his head onto my chest and started playing with my left nipple. It felt so good, I barely had enough functional brain cells to be glad that even though I didn't have a bra on, at least, out of pure chance, I had on a pair of black lace thong panties…can't wait to see his reaction to those.

As if on cue, he reached down and started undoing the clasp that kept my capris on my body, but this time, I didn't let him. My hands shot up and grabbed his shirt. He looked down at me with a 'what have I done wrong?' expression on his face.

"Not fair." I shortly said out of breath as I started to lift the offending garment off of his torso. He seamed a bit relived at my action, letting out a breath and leaning down to kiss me again. The shirt caught under his arms and his neck as we were lip-locking, so we had to end the kiss just so I could slip the material off him. I slowly trailed my fingertips on the soft skin of his chest until I felt the belt keeping his pants in place. I took his pants down to his thighs and then flipped us over as so I was on top so I could fully remove them. Now he was lying under me, in only his boxers, as I straddled him.

Now _this_ was a sight! He looked amazing. His hair had come undone due to our prior actions and was now sprawled like a dark halo around his head, the color contrasting with his pale skin. I think it gave him a vampire-ish air…or it could have been the animalistic surroundings…forest, trees, grass…full moon. The only thing tainting his undead look was the red tint of his cheeks and neck that had still not gone away, fact which made me very happy…that meant he was still enjoying this.

I leaned in and kissed him again. He trailed his hand down my sides, the action raising goose bumps on my skin, which was already cold from the night air. He lifted his upper body from the ground and encircled his arms around my waist.

"Yeep! Hey!" I shrieked from the sudden action. He had spun us around so he would be on top again.

"Lace huh?" he asked playfully. Hey! Wait! When the hell did he remove my pants? Was it genjutsu? No, couldn't be. Damn…He was fast…especially when it came to the things he wanted…or so it seems.

"Ha! I knew you'd like it." I said trying to seem unfazed…but I do believe that my prior verbal reaction was a dead give-away.

He slowly removed my panties and I took off his boxers. This was it! He was on top of me, we were ready to do it…and then it hit me. The fear. I mean I know you should have butterflies in your stomach when you're with the person you love, and I also know that you should be a little scared your first time but in my case, the butterflies were angry pterodactyls and I felt terrified. He was calmly looking at me, but he must have noticed something, even though I was trying to keep my face impassive, because he asked:

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" I lied "Everything's fine."

He responded nothing; instead, he raised an elegant eyebrow. Damn! He got me. I didn't know what to tell him, so I opted for the first thing that went through my mind…unfortunately that was the truth.

"I'm scared" I said faster than I could think.

His eyes widened a fraction. Oh great! Now I whished I could take it back.

"Of what?" Itachi inquired calmly.

"I don't know…of this, maybe. I'm afraid I'll lose this again. And this time it would hurt much more."

Itachi smiled warmly to me "I'm not going anywhere. And this time, I'll make sure that you're not leaving either." He concluded and kissed me passionately, not letting me give an answer.

I was still sacred but not as much as I was before. I think my fear level had gone down to normal heights…and speaking of down…I could feel Itachi positioning himself at my entrance…and pushing…Fuck that hurt. Damn! If men would hurt as much when loosing _their_ virginity, humans would probably be an endangered species.

"You've never done this before, have you?" he asked a bit stunned.

Well gee Sherlock, they don't call you a genius for nothing now do they? Why don't these people never ask to begin with…is it common knowledge between men that women lose their virginity before the age of twenty?

"It's ok. Go on" I said smiling at him, even though that was not exactly what I was feeling… "It doesn't hurt that much."

And he pushed slowly but surely all the way inside.

You know all the sex talks you have with your girl-friends about their first time? And you always think that when they say it hurt that they're just wining little brats…that sex could never hurt that much to begin with or else no one would want to do it so much… Well…it hurts about as much as they say it does. It felt like I was ripped I half from the inside out…no biggie…

FUCKITY FUCK FUCK!...Ouch! …You get the point…

Itachi, gentleman that he was, stopped moving when my body grew rigid because of the pain, and I was so thankful for it…maybe I should repay him by being on top…another time…

The pain, strong as it was, faded quite quickly, so I experimentally moved my hips. He moaned…that was always a good sign, and the best part about this was that I didn't hurt anymore. Yey!

"You can move now." I told him happily.

He softly kissed me and thrust his hips. Shit! I take back any and all things bad I ever said about sex…this is amazing! Or could it be that I had the Uchiha prodigy on top of me…hmm…yeah…that could be it.

After a couple of thrusts on his behalf I started to experimentally thrust my own hips towards him, which in turn made him hit deeper inside of me. I think I moaned…I said I _think_ because I know I heard a moan but I was so far gone in my own pleasure that I couldn't tell if it was him or myself.

I lifted my right leg to encircle his waist as he firmly grabbed my thigh. Our movements were getting faster and stronger and our breathing more rapid.

"Are you ok?" I hear Itachi's breathless whisper in my left ear.

My head was thrown back eyes closed and breathing ragged, so the only thing I could answer was "A…ha…Yes!...Oh yes!"

I heard him chuckle before he slightly bit my ear lobe and started going faster. And oh yes it felt amazing.

I was still in a daze of how wonderful I was feeling when he came. And let me just say this universal truth…Uchiha Itachi looks impossibly sexy when he cums.

He collapsed on top of me, we were both heaving for breath. Our first time was…a bit clumsy, we didn't switch positions, and due to the fact that he probably didn't have sex in a long while, a bit short…overall EXTRAORDINARY!

It took a while for us to catch our breaths and get our bodies to move again. He had moved and was now lying to my right, leaned on an elbow, smiling and drawing lazy patterns on my belly with his fingers. I giggled…Yeah…I know…can you imagine it…_me?_Giggling? Oh well, I was!

I leaned in and gave him a soft kiss before getting up and walking to the lakes shore. When I reached the bank, my back to him, I slowly turned my head to look in his direction. He was staring at my naked form in the moonlight. Romantic ne?

I pushed some chakra to my feet and started walking on the surface of the water to the center of the lake, where I turned to face him, smiled, and cut off all chakra flow. Action which of course caused me to fall directly into the water. I bet it looked so nice from his view point…but from mine, it felt like I had just fallen like a brick in cold water. Brrrr!

Oh well, I had to find a sexy way to wash off the…umhumm…bodily fluids…seeing that we didn't use a condom and all.

When I surfaced, I waved.

"Come on in! The water's great…when you get past the cold" I laughed.

He did come after me. We swam a couple of times around the small lake and then we laid on half of the Akatsuki cloak, while using the other half to cover ourselves. We fell asleep cuddling…which, in normal circumstances would have made me puke from all the sweetness…but…it was Itachi.

"_**And are you positive this will work?" my father's voice.**_

"_**Of course it will" I heard a hiss…Kabuto.**_

_**They were in a large room with a high ceiling and marble floor, kind of like a ball room. They were next to a large window through which the small slice of the moon shone. Next to them was an Edo Tensei coffin, but due to the position I was in, I couldn't see who was in it.**_

"**_Look__…" __Kabuto__ continued.__ "__I__ spent__ years __trying __to __gather __all __this__ DNA __and __I __wouldn__'__t __have __gone __through__ all __that__ trouble __if __I __wasn__'__t __sure__would __work.__" __Then __he __smiled __maliciously, __the__ silver__ glow __of __the __moon__ giving __his __already__ dead __looking __skin __an__ even __more __unnatural __ominous __glow.__ "__And __just __to __calm__ you __down __Sasaki-sama, __I_ do _have __a __back-__up __plan. __If__ this __fails, __we __can__ always __bring _her _into__ the__ equation.__"_**

"_**You'd better be right snake!" UGH! Daddy! The epitome of diplomacy!**_

"_**You will have Madara betray them in no time." Kabuto ended.**_

* * *

**Again sry for the late update. I really hope you guys forgive me.**

**TBC  
**


End file.
